Abyssal Somnus
by FumeKnight
Summary: A hatred towards the divine and anger to his fellow man, a boy that came from nothing and lost everything, passes on further down the line.
1. Confusion

This is a collaboration between me, FumeKnight, and LunaHalo43. Enjoy.

* * *

Orario, also known as Labyrinth City Orario. The only city in the world that has a Dungeon.

Babel, the tower in the center of the town, was built in order to stop the monsters from escaping the dungeon. Originally, it was the same size as the nearby buildings, but on the coming of the first gods, the tower was destroyed. It was later rebuilt by them and now stands a proud 50 floor tower, acting as a lid and housing for the gods.

If you're coming towards Orario, then you'll either be a merchant or an adventurer.

No other reason coming here. There aren't that many sightseeing spots here and there aren't exquisite food isn't that high here.

Fame, money, praise, power. These are usually the main reasons why many come here, be it human or another race, It matters not. What matters is how you can contribute for your Familia.

What is a Familia, you ask? In short terms, you join a God or Goddess in their side, being their loyal follower and bowing to them. Each Valis that you get can be donated towards her cause and to better the Familia.

Course nowadays, finding a Familia is hard. They judge you from the outside, not on how much you can grow and when a God or Goddess scouts you out, there is half the chance of you falling for a trick on the others and then become addicted to something. Change is unavoidable.

And being an adventurer is no easy deal. There are a lot of dangers lurking around when going for that job.

You think monsters are the only thing to worry about? Not in the slightest. The real dangers are us, beings that prey on others for their spoils and to eliminate the competition.

If people find out of our crimes, our respected God or Goddess have the right to outcast you and punish you while ending your career as an adventurer.

Countless adventurers fell on that dungeon, countless left their ideals to further their addiction, and many got corrupted for the sport.

Although there are people that go towards that side, there are others that commit to their ideals and surpass any obstacle to reach the end of the dungeon.

Yes, these are the strong warriors. Even though only a few were able to reach the floor 49, many had to turn their tails and hope to level up to catch up to them. Their strength come from their past experiences to improve themselves, the people that many look up to.

Me? I have my reasons to come towards this city. Yes, I am the child of a farmer, my job should be to supply the city with vegetables and other kind of products.

But today, I'm not a farmer, those days are already behind. I'll let my frustrations free onto the monsters that lurk in the dungeon. Even if they are not the kind of monsters I want to kill, I'll make them my scapegoat. I'll head towards the Dungeon, alone, just like I had always been since they took everything away from me

In order to be one of them, I first need to go towards Pantheon, more commonly known as the Guild.

Here you can register yourself as an adventurer and as an added bonus, they can provide weapons and armor to new adventurers who are starting out.

I know you're asking, what's their main goal? I've heard around that they manage the monster threat created in the dungeon. Aside from that, the Guild buys magic stones, drop loot, and adventurer created maps of the dungeon.

This is all I could get from the passing word in the streets and the ears outside of it. More info would be nice, but this is as much as I can get.

* * *

Inside Pantheon

"So this is Pantheon. The starting point." A boy wielding a rusty old scythe, just donning his normal clothes that consisted only of long yellow pants, a white long shirt, fairly used up light brown shoes and an old small satchel.

He looked around to find the line where he could register himself, oblivious at the stares he was receiving.

"Hmm... Must be that line." He thought to himself while going behind a large man wielding a great sword around his height. Whispers started to arise while he distracted himself with his weapon.

"Hey, why is there a kid here?"

"I don't know. You know him from somewhere?"

"Not a clue. You think he's a supporter?"

"Doubt it. He looks too weak to be an adventurer, even for a supporter."

"I don't know. That 7 year old joined recently in the Loki Familia. You think he got one?"

"Noisy." He thought to himself while barely seeing his sapphire eyes on the reflection.

The line progressed steadily, and the whisperers continued to increase but then decreased as they lost interest a few minutes later.

"Next." The female voice caught his attention as the large man moved away.

He took a step forward with his scythe resting in his hand.

"Hello there, welcome to Pantheon, home of the Guild. What can I help you with?" A female werewolf with long red hair and the standard issue of the Guild's uniform, a set of black vest and pants with a white collared long sleeve shirt underneath and a grey bow tie and black shoes. She looks

"I want to be an adventurer." I flatly stated while she looked at me with an vacant expression.

"You sure you want to be one, little guy? Being an adventurer is not for the faint of heart." She tried to make him reconsider.

"I know."

"You can get yourself killed."

"I know."

"Did your parents agreed to this?"

"They're dead. Can they still give permission?" He asked annoyed with so many counter attacks. She didn't seem the least shaken on hearing that.

"Sorry to hear that." She spoke quietly.

"But still, I can't let you go. Don't just throw your life away like that."

He grew angry at her for not letting him become one.

The whisperers returned, but this time it was towards a group of adventurers.

"Hey, that's Loki's Familia isn't it?"

"Yeah, I bet they're going to the Dungeon today too."

"Have you seen that little girl over there? She's only 7."

"Seven!? That's too young!"

"Hey Rose! Is there a problem?" A woman with light red hair with a tomboyish attire approached her.

"Ah! Miss Loki! It's nice to see you today." Rose bowed in respect towards the Goddess, while Toll simply didn't pay her any attention.

Loki, the Goddess of trickery. One of the most powerful of Familias in Orario.

"What's going on, Rose? Is this farm boy giving you trouble?"

"A little, miss Loki. He wants to enter the Dungeon." She informed.

"What!? Boy, are you serious? You'll die in less than an hour!"

"Tch. I'm going." He clicked his tongue defiantly.

"Stop being so stubborn, kid! You aren't going!" Rose said with assertively at him.

"Now, now Rose. I think you should give him a change."

"Miss Loki! You can't be serious! He's just a farm boy!" She tried to reason with the goddess.

"Precisely that! He doesn't know how the Dungeon can change people! So why not let him experience it?"

"I simply couldn't do that to-!" She then was silenced as Loki whispered her something.

She seemed to struggle on how to word her objection, but she stood quiet as Loki smiled innocently.

"Here kid, take this dagger and run off to there! If you come back alive, then Rose over here will give you your starting armor!"

He looked at the weapon and at the goddess, he gritted his teeth and reluctantly took the weapon.

"Now then, care to introduce yourself to this werewolf and me? It's quite rude not to tell your name."

"..Toll Crow." He said while avoiding eye contact with the goddess.

"I see! I see! Then, who's your God? What Familia do you belong?" She asked once more, wanting to know more.

"That's none of your business!" He yelled at her before running out of the guild.

"Toll, wait!" Rose yelled, but if fell on deaf ears.

* * *

Leaving the Pantheon left a bad taste in Toll's mouth. If it was possible, he would like to avoid any interaction with Gods or Goddesses.

He was in bad terms with them, lets just leave it at that.

Walking down the street, he eyed the tower that covered the Dungeon. It was still morning, maybe close to midday. At this time, most adventurers should be inside it, making him enter it without much hassle.

The entrance was clear, but it seemed that some people were waiting for their companions before entering. They would steal a glance before returning to what they were doing to pass the time, but others started to laugh.

"What's a farmer doin' here?" An adventurer snickered.

"This is a place for fighting, not to plant your crops!"

"Maybe you can cut the weeds on my front yard with that tool!" Some laughed and mocked with them, others muffled their giggles and others looked with interest.

"Shut up.." That was the only thought of Toll.

He began moving towards the Dungeon, his weapon resting on his right shoulder.

"What makes them think that they are safe? Just because of a miserable blessing?" He thought once more while continuing his walk.

"Hehehe, you're gonna die, little shrimp!" He tried to insinuate any reaction, but noticing that it didn't came he clicked his tongue and ignored the young boy.

Entering the tower, he looked at the stairs that descended down. Any adventurer would've steeled themselves to a certain extend and even grow little anxiety, but to him, it looked normal, natural even to not feel such feeling.

"Is that kid serious? He's going to alone."

"Let him go." A veteran spoke up.

"Wha!? How can you just say that! He's just a kid!"

"That kid...I have a feeling that he simply doesn't care."

"All the more to stop him! We need to save him!"

"Save him from what? The monsters? That's the least of his problems."

Hearing the veteran, Toll could only give him a silent nod for his words. At first he contemplated, now he had enough to proceed.

Step by step, he descended down towards the Dungeon for the first time.

* * *

Toll P.O.V

Reaching the end of the staircase, I arrived at the first floor.

The walls are light blue colored with the feeling of entering a cave. The ground was unstable with rocks sticking up, much different than the city.

Not having a map, I started to walk blindly towards the area. I did know that there was a hallway called Beginning Road, where beginners like me could train.

With my trusty tool in hand, I walked forward. Why I chose a scythe? Out of all the tools at my farm, this was the only one that I was most used to not to mention it was the only tool not to be too rusty.

I couldn't do too much of the hard work my father could do, so I could only cut the weeds and water the vegetables. He did the rest with my mom.

While walking I saw a long hallway with two ways was in front of me.

I took the right side and continued on until I saw a dog headed monster, a kobold and it was accompanied with a goblin.

Noticing my presence, the kobold howled before charging at me with his club. I avoided the club on the first two swings, but the goblin then pounced at my leg and bit on it furiously.

Unsheathing my dagger and ducking under the predictable swing, I stabbed the goblin in the forehead and kicked it off as it spasm on the floor. The Kobold, furious that none of his attacks didn't connect me, grabbed me by the shoulder with his claws digging on my flesh and then swung his club at my gut.

I rolled along the floor with his scythe beside him. I looked up with a painful look while clutching my stomach.

"These monsters are stronger than I thought! And these are the weakest?" Saying it while readying my tool.

The kobold charged at me again with his club. I put the wooden part of my tool up to block and as soon as his weapon made contact, the handle started to break away.

"This scythe is too weak!" I yelled in my mind as I blocked two more attacks.

If blocking doesn't work, then I should attack!

Grunting, I stabbed the monster on his back, it cut deep, but even with that it wasn't enough to kill it.

The kobold then slowly turned around growling at me. I looked around me to see that the Goblin didn't die yet, but the dagger was still lodged on his forehead.

But then the monster on the floor rose, pried the weapon off and wielded it in front of him.

Two monsters with weapons and my tool was almost done. I'm in trouble...

The goblin then charged at me while flailing the dagger, the other monster rush forward as well. I stepped to the challenge and attacked the goblin. I struck my rusty blade on his chest until the wood finally gave away, while ducking under the club.

I grabbed the dagger in a hurry and barely blocked the kobolds attack. I was sent flying a few feet backwards as I rolled on the floor.

My scythe was destroyed, the same could be said with the goblin as it turned into a shadow and disappearing. It left behind a stone.

"Alright you damn dog... Come and get me!" Yelling, I rushed forward dagger in hand. I blocked the first attack and lunged forward, dodging the second, and stabbed him on the stomach. It still wasn't enough!

"Come on, you bastard!" I yelled as I made the blade rise, opening a large gash from stomach to it's neck. It then fell on the floor motionless before transforming into smoke.

I huffed while taking in the air around me. That was my first battle and I've won.

"Damn..." I looked at my old scythe. It's been with me for a good 3 years and just like that, it was gone. I'll need to buy a new one...

"Hmm? Those are..."

Then I noticed the stones that they dropped. These were magic stones? Magic stones are the core of monsters and are always located in the chest area of the monster. They are used for things such as lighting, water purification, cooking stoves, refrigerators, and other things.

"If I remember I can trade these for Valis in the Guild. I should probably get as many as I can." I thought to myself as I put the stones in my satchel.

"Nice job, kid." I looked behind me to see the veteran from before with his party.

I put my dagger in front of me, I can't afford to get myself off guard.

"Against a goblin and a kobold with just a rusty tool, a dagger and no armor, you did good. Though you barely cut it against them, if you didn't hit that kobold on the back, that club would've hit on the back of your head and there goes your life." He explained to me.

"What are you doing here?" I asked while taking a step back.

"You won't survive if you go alone, specially with no armor."

"I don't need your help, I can do this on my own." I said, despite feeling hurt from my battle.

"Really? Do you have any training from before? Any experience or muscle to back that up?"

"..." I kept quiet because he was right. I didn't had anything to help me out.

"You're still a kid. Most new adventurers don't struggle against the easiest monsters on the dungeon." Struggle? That was struggling!?

"I still took care of them, didn't I? I should be fine."

"That was only a pair. Most of the time there's groups of three or four. Can you take care of them too?" This guy..!

"Yes! I can!"

"Really? Then prove it."

"Fine! I will!"

I rushed forward with the thought of proving that guy that I could do it.

I started to fight a couple of monsters. I fought and fought, I got more bruises and my clothes got more torn up.

Soon, everything started to be too much. My muscles hurt and I was breathing heavily. When did I get this tired?

Two clubs swung at me from above and I couldn't do anything except roll out of the way.

Three goblins pounced at me, I killed one with a dagger through the chest, but the other two gripped my legs and dug their sharp fangs into my flesh.

I yelled with pain before swallowing it and transforming it into a grunt.

One of the kobolds swung again, but since I couldn't move out of the way, I got hit on my left shoulder and then I got hit again on my gut.

Tears started to form due to the pain, but I kept holding on. I stabbed one of the critters on the head again and elbowed the other, releasing my legs.

I rolled forward dodging the first swing of the club, but the other one kicked me towards the wall. I looked up and saw them closing in slowly. I tried standing, but my legs started to shake.

"Move!" I yelled at myself, but I couldn't. Was I this hurt!?

"Move!" I yelled again, but the same result was the same. I saw the kobolds raise their clubs. Was this it? Was this really my first and last dungeon crawl!? No! Move it!

"MOVE!" I shouted as I slouched downwards avoiding the two clubs, but the goblin leapt on the air towards me.

I... I cried and yelled in fear. I'm afraid! I'm afraid to die! For the first time, I don't want death to come to me!

But, I heard the goblins screech instead of hitting me. I looked up and saw the veteran from before killing the kobolds and his party members disposing of the goblin easily.

They then looked at me. I was a wreck, I can't believe that I got saved. By adventurers no less.

"You did better than I expected, I'll give you that. But you're still too far away from even finishing the first floor. Not prepared enough, not experienced enough and certainly not geared enough."

I looked down in shame. I'm being lectured right now? From another person!? This is humiliating!

"Kid-"

"Shut up!" I yelled at him with anger on my eyes.

"I...I... I can..!" I tried to say it, but... I simply can't! Because it isn't true!

I fell on my knees crying even further. Can't win a battle without struggling, can't get enough stones to get money and can't get strong because of a stupid blessing! This is infuriating!

"I know how you're feeling, kid. We all went through that, being weak and all that pent up anger from years." The veteran spoke while laying a hand on my shoulder.

"But this shouldn't be where you die. This shouldn't be the fate of a young one like you." ...

"What am I suppose to do? Please tell me..." I'm so confused. I don't know what to do.

"For starters, you should get yourself properly trained and some gear. Why don't you tag along with us?"

"You sure that's a good idea, Boris?"

"Do you want him to die without giving much of a fight, Gale?"

"I don't want to be in your party..." I want to grow strong, but I don't want to rely on others...

"You don't have to join us. Just tag along with us and if we see you struggling to kill a monster we'll just give you a helping hand. Nothing more, the kill is still yours." He explained to me. Honestly... That seems a good deal.

"...Okay." I gave him his answer, he seemed pleased with it.

"Layla, heal him up. We'll then keep going."

"Fine, but I think this is a waste of time." I can already see that I won't get along with his party members.

* * *

Outside of the tower of Babel - Evening

The day came to an end and the sun started to set down. Many adventurers started to leave the tower towards a local pub or restaurant or even towards their own homes to relax until tomorrow.

At first the crowd was enormous, but as the time progressed the less people came out until none came out.

There was simple chatting among them, about the events that occurred through them while inside. As they talked, a party left with a boy with tattered clothes.

"We'll be leaving for today. Go to the guild and exchange your magic stones, after that go home and get some rest. Layla can't heal every wound, so don't forget to treat yourself." Boris said to him, to which he nodded and left the group alone.

"Hey kid!" The veteran then called him. "Don't forget that tomorrow we're doing the same thing, come early if you want to tag along again." He replied with a nod before really leaving.

As he walked through forward, the adventurers couldn't take their eyes of surprised towards him. A few laughed as he made his way towards Pantheon.

He survived despite having no armor or any decent gear. Just a small dagger and a rusty tool.

As Toll turned a corner he saw Loki once more with a group of people, she seemed impressed to see him alive.

"Take me surprised! I really thought you chickened out!" She said to him, while he silently watched.

"You know him, Goddess?" Finn asked curiously.

"You remember when I said that a foolish farmer boy entered the Dungeon? You're looking at him." She then pointed at him, the party was not amused whatsoever.

He walked around the group and continued on his way.

"Hey! We're still talking here!" She yelled at him.

"Talking to who, exactly?" He responded back with no respect towards her.

He began walking again while getting angry stares from her party.

"Hey, you still haven't answered my question from before." She suddenly said to him, making him stop once more.

"What Familia?" He answered with a question, with the cold shoulder to her.

"Are you an idiot? Why bother to even go there without a God to back you up?" She asked wanting to know more.

"That doesn't concern you." He replied back while facing away from her.

"Then, why don't you join my Familia?" She asked him to see his reaction.

"Loki, you aren't serious right?" One of the party members asked at her.

He then turned around and faced her, his piercing sapphire eyes locked on hers with a sharp look.

"I'll never bow my head to any of you." He said before leaving for good. This picked her curiosity even further.

He left more bitter than what he was before.

* * *

Inside the Pantheon

"Toll? You're back! Are you okay?" Rose asked concernedly as she saw his clothes tattered up.

"...I want to exchange these." He then opened his satchel to show her various magic stones that he got.

"I... Let's see..." She began counting the amount of magic stones he gathered.

"10 magic stones? That's amazing..." She thought to herself while looking at him. Despite his current state, he appears as calm as he arrived early today.

"I couldn't kill anymore monsters, that's the best I could do.." He informed.

"Still, that's much more than what I thought you would do." She asked impressed.

"I... I failed miserably in the Dungeon, Rose." He said disappointed

"What happened?" She asked concerned.

"I nearly died against the easiest monsters in the first floor." He said while rubbing his eyes.

"How did you survived?" She asked while rubbing his left shoulder.

"I was saved by another adventurer.. I shouldn't went in, but I need the money."

"Why do you need it for?" She asked him.

He began telling her everything.

He needed it in order to fix his home. For a year, he's been mourning his parents death. He didn't left his home in all that time, after he buried them next to an apple tree on their front yard.

After leaving the house for so long, he saw how it withered in that time span. Farming would take too long for him to get money, so he thought about the dungeon and how many adventurers got a lot of money out of it.

He thought that it was easy enough and he knew about the risks. But he turned a blind eye to it, being as reckless as he could get and ventured on.

A Familia is something that he didn't had. Why? Because no amount of prayers could help him out of his depression and so he abandoned his faith for them, to the point where he despises them.

He then told how the party saved him from being monsters fodder and how they helped him a bit on his fighting.

After hearing his story, Rose softened a bit at Toll. He wasn't being the brat that he was before, but a person wanting to change, even by forcing himself to be something that he wasn't meant to be..

"At least your safe now... Do you remember the party leader that helped you?"

"His name was Boris. He said to meet with him tomorrow." He responded as she got up and went behind her counter.

"Why don't you stay with them for a while and learn a few things from them? It could help you become better at this." She advised while handing him the starting armor from before.

The armor consisted of a hip length red coat with leather shoulder piece, a long sleeved white shirt, white pants, a beige belt with a silver buckle and black shin high boots.

"I still believe that you should get yourself a Familia, but I won't force you. Why won't you exchange the magic stones over there, in the exchange counter?" She said as he nodded.

As he dropped the magic stones in the tray, he received 4000 Valis from his efforts for today.

"Thank you... for listening me, Rose. I'll see you tomorrow." He said while she waved him a goodbye.

He then left the Pantheon.

* * *

As he walked through the streets of Orario, he noticed the amount of people talking with each other. Topics flew on the wind, yet he wasn't interested in any of it.

All Toll wanted was to head home, get clean, get a meal and go to sleep.

While walking, he looked at his hands. He saw how they are a few wounds and splints from the old wood of his scythe, nothing like some bandages to fix it for a few days.

As he traveled, he was looking at his surroundings and saw how the people around him are having fun.

"..." He silently continued. The feeling of joy...

He walked towards the outskirts of the city, reaching the plains where farmers tend the fields and crops. His home was close.

Night was still some ways away, having only the sun peek through the horizon.

Soon, the familiar fence of his home appeared while he opened the gate.

Looking at his home, he saw how mistreated it had become. Some wood was rotten, some patched holes here and there and some broken wood was shown.

Yes, for now this was his home that he neglected. Though with the money that he would gain from the Dungeon, he would be able to bring it back from it's misery state.

As he made his way towards the door, he looked to his right, where an apple tree stood. To the side were two graves with crosses on top.

Looking at them, made his cold heart start to feel something again. But he slowly looked away and entered his home.

"I'm home." He announced, to no one in particular.


	2. Bitter Feelings

This is a collaboration between me, FumeKnight, and LunaHalo43. Enjoy.

* * *

Orario - Outside of the tower of Babel

It was far too early in the morning as I awaited for Boris and his teammates. Twilight has passed the horizon a while ago and the clouds were barely forming at the beginning of this day.

I sat at the edge of the familiar fountain in wait for the Dwarf to come by with the Elf and the Hume Bunny.

It's kinda a strange group if I think about it. Their from different races, so shouldn't they compete or get along?

Sure this world is strange, but how can they be together? Do they trust each other enough?

It's been eight weeks since I started to going in the dungeon with them. Since I'm against of joining a familia, I can't grow stronger like them.

This is infuriating. I want to grow strong, stronger than the current me and even stronger than those bastards, but I can't without that stupid blessing called Falna.

I look at my dagger. The blade is chipped from many angles and is becoming duller, I probably need to go to a blacksmith soon to get a new weapon. Maybe I should get better armor too.

Oh! I need to pay the rights for the farm too! I didn't pay the monthly quota a week ago, maybe they'll ask for this month and last month together. So that'll be... 56000 Valis for the farm? I can afford it with all the money I saved up, but then I'll need to gather supplies to repair the house and then buy seeds and fertilizer for the land. Not to mention food for the storage.

Let me do a small recap. Buy the farm and paying the monthly quota and the last one, buy food, buy supplies, buy seeds, buy new armor and then buy a weapon or repair the dagger. I'm looking for... How much? 185000 Valis? I hope it's that much, that way I can still save up money for later on while taking the time to do some remodeling.

This is annoying. Even though my parents owned the farm they still say that it wasn't on my name, so I have to buy the rights farm back from them. A little strange that my name isn't there, but I guess that I was still too young to put my name besides them.

I looked at my reflection on the water. There were bandages around my forehead and a few scratches on my cheeks. On the outside it looks like I'm hurt, but actually I'm not as hurt as I look. Layla's healing magic helps making the pain much duller, almost completely gone in some instances.

Looking at my hands, I can't say much changes. Bandages are all over the place.

My black hair still looks the same though. Not too long and just short enough to reach my neck, but these uneven bangs need to be trimmed a little.

I should stop for a bit after I pay my bills, is what I should think. Honestly, I would if I could, but considering how much more I have to do, I can't afford to have my moment of solace.

I may have the money, but that can quickly disappear, not to mention that nowadays water comes with a price to have and don't get me started with energy to power the stove and other light sources.

Hmm... I DO remember that magic stones can be used as a power supply. Wonder if I can smuggle a few for myself... That would mean that the contract that my family made would get cancel and I would need to start getting more stones to give my home energy. Not worth it, in the end.

Is this what they had to go through before? Farming didn't bring enough Valis, so we had to make do with what we had. Is this what adults deal with everyday? So much responsibilities... And now they fall on my shoulders.

I still can't go below floor 3, too weak, so I can't increase my income, and I can't deal with more than 11 monsters before I feel too tired.

Maybe I should...

No! Push those thoughts away, Toll! They didn't listen to you before, no matter how many times you prayed, no matter how many sleepless nights you suffered or the sadness you've endured. I won't give them that satisfaction of me being their puppet.

I won't bow to their name, pray for their name, pledge in their name or even help them in their name.

Grabbing a handful of the fountains water, I splashed it on my face and calmed down. No use getting riled up, not when the day barely started.

Hmm... Maybe I should do some exercise before going, I most likely woke up too early for Boris and the others.

Doing some stretches, my body started to wake up, which is good. A body that is lax can only make mistakes, that's what my father used to say.

I miss him...

In the distance, I start to hear a parade of footsteps. Adventurers from many Familias are finally awake to enter the dungeon below Babel. I'll just have to wait a little longer, they'll soon be here.

* * *

Dungeon - Floor 3

I muffled a yelp as the club from the kobold struck my left shoulder, at the same time I dug my worn dagger into a goblins chest. I grabbed the club from the monster and spun around, before attacking it with his own weapon.

No time to lose, take care of Lizard!

Not two seconds later, I jumped on its back and stabbed on it, tracing the serrated blade from top to bottom.

"Behind you, dumb ass!" Gale shouted while already letting loose an arrow that hit a goblin waiting in the shadows.

That thing could've lunged for my neck with that sharp rock on his hand..

"Thanks.." I said lowly towards him.

"What are you still doing with that used up butter knife? It's been 6 weeks, you should've bought a better weapon by now!"

"I was planning to buy it this weekend."

"This week- Are you stupid? That knife is good for one more run, look at it! It's about to break with all those chipped spots and don't get me started with how your armor looks or even how YOU look!"

"Calm down, Gale. I'm sure he has a reason for it. I mean, he's still just a beginner." Layla said while patting his back. "But it is strange, you should've gotten a new weapon on your first week. You get a lot of Valis with every 10 stones."

"Care to explain, Toll?" Boris asked while looking at me, scratching his chin.

"I've been saving up... I needed a lot of Valis to pay the plot of my families home." Might as well say the truth to them, but better keep certain things in check.

"Pay your families plot? Your folks can't do that?" Layla asked curiously, I hate those types of people. The nosy ones.

"They... can't." I looked to the side while saying it.

"Pfft. Cheapskates, making their son do all the work." If you don't know anything then you should can it, stupid elf.

"Now now! They can just be poor and need the extra money! Farming doesn't give a lot of dough, you know." We weren't exactly poor, below average, but not poor. So she speaks half the truth.

"So kid, how much dough do you need to pay the bills to get something better than those things you call armor and weapon?" Is the elf curious about my well being, or simply interested how much money I have?

"I have enough, just needed today's run to have a back up plan."

"Planning ahead, are you? My, aren't you smart!" That wasn't.. called for.

"Still, you need a better weapon." Gale said while looking at me.

"I already have something for him." Boris spoke up while handing me a small sword.

"Is this... A short sword?" I asked while looking at it without it's scabbard. It's sharp... Was it made a while ago?

"Hey, is that what you've asked a few days ago?" Asked?

"I knew the kid was holding off his earnings, no adventurer couldn't just go through the dungeon without buying a weapon after two weeks. So I asked to make a regular sword that was just a little smaller than normal. Slightly heavier than a dagger and a bit longer too." I... Don't know what to say.

"I'll repay you when I pay my bills, Boris." I can't believe he would give me something like this, I'm a little flabbergasted.

"Don't. Just think of it as a gift, for joining in our line of work." A gift... When was the last time someone gave me a gift?

"Why don't you give it a few swings to test it out?" I nodded to him while holding the grip of the hilt with my left arm.

"You use the left arm?" Gale asked a little surprised.

"I'm used to use my left, I can use my right too, though not as much."

"Matters not if you use your sword arm is your left or right. Give it a go and see for yourself."

Heeding Boris' words, I swung couple of times horizontally and vertically. It felt comfortable to wield and easy to use.

"Your stance is rather dull, your holding it wrong as well and your form isn't good." He stated while looking at me, before he drew his sword.

"Try putting yourself like this, hold it tight but not too much and put the blade up. Use both arms if you want that little boost."

I took his advice and imitated him, blade up, not too tight on the grip and one step ahead of the other but not too far.

"Good, that should keep you going for a little. At least until you start get used to a sword."

"Are you done teaching the kid the very basics? We still have a lot more to do, you know." Gale warned while being a little impatient.

Looking at my new blade, I started to think that maybe... Being with them isn't so bad after all. Sure the elf gets on my nerves with his impatience and the Bunny isn't that bad either, specially when she numbs my pain a little. Boris on the other hand, I kinda respect him. Not too kind, but stern as well. Doesn't cut through to help and jumps only when necessary.

What a weird group, but it's better than the common adventurer.

I followed behind them, though where they were going was somewhere I couldn't go. They were going to the floor below, the one where I couldn't go.

"Uh, Gale I think Toll can't go down there yet." Layla called him. This made the Elf click his tongue.

"You need to go down, don't you." I didn't ask a question, because they were much higher level than I was so they needed to go deeper.

"I'm sure we can postpone it for another week or so." The hume bunny said as she tapped his shoulder.

"It's okay, you can go." I'm just slowing them down right now. They have stuff to do and I'm just in their way.

"It's not like that Toll! We can go when-"

"You'll be fine, right?" Boris asked me with a little indifference.

"With what you taught me, I should be able to survive better than what I was eight weeks ago." I responded back to him, my voice didn't faltered when I said.

"We're moving out." He told the other two, while going downstairs.

"Finally!" Gale responded while following his leader.

"But, but! Are you sure we can leave him alone?" Layla asked a little concerned about me. That wasn't... Necessary.

"He'll be fine, rabbit. Our leader gave us the signal, so move your tail." The elf responded back. No need to go around, are you?

She still seemed a little conflicted about leaving me.

"I'll be fine, Layla. Get going." I gave her a little push while assuring her that I'll be fine.

She wasn't reassured yet, but went and caught up with Boris and Gale.

Turning around, I retraced my steps and made a right turn. The next group of monsters should be coming soon, they always come after a group is dead. They must've smelled their fallen brothers blood.

Sword in hand, I took the stance that Boris told me and I waited. This group... It was slightly bigger than the ones before.

Instead a group of 4 it was a group of 7. That wasn't right, they told me that only groups of 3 and 4 roamed around here! Why the sudden change?

Never mind, I just need to defeat them and that's that. They're nothing more than mindless monsters, just monsters.

I started to jog, before a full sprint took me. First enemy was a lizard, I jumped over his spine and set my sights on the kobold first, a downward slash with the sword and he took massive damage on his chest.

Wait... No! It fell down with just that! How? How is this short sword better than my dagger? I've done that move a couple times and at best staggered a kobold.

The length? The steel? It must've been strong enough to kill it. This makes things a little easier. Different even.

I turned around by the shriek that the goblin made and made my sword do a large arc, taking a large portion to his side. When did I...

No time to think, next one!

Hearing the hissing of the salamander, I slide to the side and chopped of one of his hind legs, blood started to coat the floor. After that, I slashed another goblin two times before it fell down lifeless.

The last three monsters were rushing me now, swinging their clubs down on me. Taking my stance, I put my sword up and blocked their attacks, while my knees buckled under the pressure.

I faltered a few times by their attacks, but I kept blocking before I saw the opening that I wanted. I dashed forward, avoiding their predictable attack and thrust my sword inside one of the kobolds guts, twisting it in the process.

The other two redirected their attacks and I ducked under them, making their fallen comrade take the full blunt. Grabbing his club, I made sure that one of them took the blow as well, but it broke as it made contact.

I did little damage and was then victim to a direct hit, sending me a few ways away from them.

My new weapon was behind the three monsters and the only thing I had was my old dagger that's nearly done for, what are my chances of winning?

What would Boris or Gale or Layla do here? Boris would probably go through taking the risk straight on, Gale would go around them when he saw the chance and Layla would probably use magic instead.

What's the better way of dealing this? The monsters are coming closer and closer while I'm thinking instead of acting.

If only... If only I had that blessing, maybe just maybe, I could've taken them with just this weapon. But instead!

"I can only fight it off!" I shouted in my mind while I rushed forward, dagger gripped in hand.

I ducked under the first attack and stabbed my dagger deep in its throat, while getting hit to the side by the second monster.

Just as I was about to be airborne, I grabbed the club and put whatever momentum I had to crush the salamanders skull, before skidding to my sword.

I grabbed it and bolted towards the lonesome kobold and blocked his attack once more, but the second attack, as I was surprised as well, was parried by me. I took that opening and gave him multiple slashes from many angles until he finally died.

Panting, I looked around me and saw that the monsters dissipated a few moments ago. I was still sloppy, but at least I'm not dead, not yet.

I grabbed the stones and put it in my satchel, this time I'm bringing 15 stones. This was a small improvement, but much better than before.

Taking my spoils, I left without looking back where Boris party went. They're strong enough to take care of each other, they even took their time on a newbie like me.

Still, I need much more work with this sword. I was careless and my style is still sloppy, I'm new to wielding something like this.

* * *

"Toll, you came earlier today!" The same tone as always, just happy to see an adventurer alive.

"Boris and his party needed to go deeper in the dungeon today, so I came to get my share again."

"Ah, I see. You wanted to follow them didn't you?" If I can get more profit from going below, then yes, I do.

"I'd be lying if I said I didn't. It would help me a lot if I could go lower, but we both know that's me signing my death." After that experience from my first day, I lack the courage to go deeper. It shouldn't be a surprise, I nearly died towards the easiest enemies.

"You don't know how happy I am to hear that." Happy?

"What's good about being a coward?"

"Toll, you aren't a coward. You're just looking out for yourself!" I'm being berated by her?

"But..."

"Adventurers come a go, some more foolish than others. You aren't a fool or a coward, what you're being is mindful of your limits. That's something adventurers can't say for themselves.

You don't have a blessing, but that's okay. That just means you'll survive, even without it." Hmm... That's a way of seeing things.

"Still, I wish I could go further below. Fighting those monsters on the 3rd floor will sooner or later become a hassle to get more money."

"Even more Valis? For the last eight weeks you've been going into the dungeon non-stop, you should have enough money to sustain your needs for a few months." I should, yet...

"It's not enough. Not while my home isn't in my name, or even repaired." I need much more, this is just pocket change to royalty, those snot, arrogant bastards.

"Still, you need to take it easy. You can't fight much longer if you keep this up."

"I know. I should be okay if I go one more week, after that I'll rest for a few days."

"A few days won't cut it. The constant strain on your body won't heal in just that time." ... She may be right.

"Then how long should I rest?" She is my adviser, so I should listen to her.

"A few weeks should be fine, a month is better to let you recover from all those wounds." A month!? Heck no! I'll be content with just a few weeks.

"I prefer two weeks than a month. Should be more than enough, right?"

"Denied. Three weeks." Thre-!

"Two and a half?" I ain't staying three weeks doing nothing!

"You can't barter with me, Toll. Two weeks is pushing luck your aside, three for reassurance." This werewolf is too keen to talk back..

"Fine, three weeks. I'll listen to you." I admit defeat, a break seems good for me.

"Glad to hear that!" Don't be too happy about that, I'll be losing on Valis for a while.

"Hmm? Is that a sword that I see?"

"Boris gave it to me. That dwarf... looking out for me, when he could've just ignored me." I say that, but honestly I'm happy that he gave a damn about me in the first place.

Don't just smile at me, Rose!

"Hey, just asking but... Are you sure you don't want to join a Familia? Loki still has her hand open." That damn goddess...

"I'd rather stab my hand before shacking hers or any other god."

"Still with a senseless tantrum, I see... But, shouldn't you apologize to her at least? She WAS the goddess to 'convince' me to let you go."

"I'll... I'll think about it." Why does she gotta play that card. Dammit it all!

"Good! She sometimes walks around town and makes a visit or two here. If you see her, try to be nice to her."

"You're being a little quick there, Rose." This feeling doesn't go away over night, you know.

I simply sit back and sigh. These breathers that I get are nice... I'm sure she doesn't know this, but I haven't being resting that much.

Been too busy taking care of the farm during the night, seeing and marking the places that I need to repair, training for an hour or two and only taking small naps in between.

Those naps... They can't be considered that anymore, they're more like remembering that day in my sleep. Not a nightmare, but a reminder.

Sure a few days I actually get some shut eye, but I can't dream that well. Guess this is what it means to dream in a dreamless land.

"Maybe I should make a small training dummy back at home. With some broken wood and some hay, it should be good enough for some practice." Did I think that out loud? Probably not.

"I'm going home for today, Rose. Thanks for your hard work today."

"Sure thing, Toll. Come back after you rested, you hear?"

"I promise nothing."

After cashing in my goods, I walked past the streets once more. The only difference was that the sun was still up.

Looking at it now from the usual cold night, the city had a different appealing to it.

While the night was quiet, cold and distant. The day was loud, warm and inviting. Between the two, I actually prefer the day, since I rarely take the mantle of crossing that path.

When was the last time that I talked with the neighbors? Or even my old friends in the city? It feels like a long time now...

Maybe those three weeks aren't so bad after all. Can't have my life to just be out and killing those monsters, only an obsessive person is that committed to that.

But before doing anything of that, the bills and food comes first.


	3. Slowly Growing

This is a collaboration between me, FumeKnight, and LunaHalo43. Enjoy.

* * *

Outside of Orario - Toll's home

Another morning came, and with it came hammering. Every morning for the past two weeks, Toll has dedicated his attention towards restoring his beloved home, that now belonged solely to him.

It had been a good while, but he was able to buy it off the debt and claimed ownership of the land. Though, they warned him that they wouldn't help him restore the home, due to it's current state.

Either he bought the services of workers on the city, or he would do it alone to save 5000 Valis, and with his current funds with the debt paid, the food he bought and the bills, his current funds were around 20000 Valis. Enough for him to buy decent armor, but not enough if he hired the workers.

Stopping his hammering, he wiggled the balcony fence and confirmed that it didn't budged anymore. He then smacked the top to see if it toppled over, no such luck, hence he was proud of his work.

He made decent progress repairing the house. The roof was patched up nicely, the holes on the side were almost done, balcony was fixed, kitchen floor and table were all around good. Now, he just needed to patch up inside the house and to check if the fields were good to plant again.

And also, to fix any broken up furniture. He cleaned all of the trash and broken wood before to make it easier to move around.

"Maybe a few days, or maybe another week? I've done most of the heavy stuff, though it took a while to move it." Thinking to himself while eyeing the straw doll that he made next to the field, it was tattered with slashes and holes.

"That's not gonna last long and I don't feel different when using that sword." He looked towards the weapon, resting on top of the table, waiting for it's owner to use him again to practice.

"I'm getting less and less training, this isn't good. A rested body is good, but a rusty one will just give penalties. Gotta find a way to speed things up." He continued to think, while not seeing the approaching figures calling out to him.

"Hey, Toll! Hey!" They called once more, but he was lost in his thinking.

"He's not listening again." One commented to the other.

"I know how he'll notice." He smirked as he silently got closer to him.

"He'll get mad, you know."

"That's okay, he'll just have to learn to keep his ears clean!" He whispered to the girl while getting ready.

Still in his thinking, Toll felt a pair of arms envelop him while squeezing him hard. He struggled as he elbowed his aggressor in the stomach before getting some space. Only then did he noticed who they were.

"Don't sneak up on others, Lester." He stated to the boy that was clutching his chest.

"Is that what you do to when someone is getting your attention? Holy ground!" He gasped his words while trying to catch his air back.

"You reap what you sow, Lester." The girl said while approaching them.

"Elisa? What are you both doing here?" He questioned them, as he saw Lester get back to his feet.

"We came to see who the heck was hammering for two straight weeks! We barely got any shut eye because of it..." He said tiredly.

"Ah, I'm sorry. Didn't think it would reach the other side." He apologized back to his fellow farmer.

"Sorry? Sorry!? Give me back my two weeks of sleep!" He shook him while trying to bring some false tears.

"If it makes you feel any better, I'm mostly done with my work. No more hammering during the night." He reassured his old friend, while stopping him from shaking him anymore.

"Yes! Thank you!" Lester fist pumped the air, glad to know that tonight he could sleep soundly.

"You've been getting this place back on his feet?" Elisa asked while looking at his work. "This is just above sloppy, you know." She pointed out.

"I wasn't born from a carpenter you know." He spoke back.

"Now now, no need to fight. I mean, we haven't met each other in a long time! We don't wanna start with the wrong foot." Lester talked his way towards them.

Though as he said that, Toll was the first to speak.

"If you two just came here to complain of the hammering, then get out of here. I've still got work to do inside and outside." He grabbed the training dummy, put it into position and headed back inside to resume his work.

"Come on now! Is that what you say to old friends?" Lester asked feeling a little disappointed in Toll to put them apart.

He stopped for a bit, thought about it and heaved a small frustrated grunt.

"Fine. I get it. Come in, I'll prepare something for you." He then guided them towards the kitchen.

As they moved, they noticed the holes that the place had, not to mention how much more spacious it was. The lack of furniture and paintings gave the place a empty feeling.

"What happened here?" Lester asked with concern in his voice.

"It's been a year and you still ask that?" Elisa's tone sounded disappointed on Lester. "From before to now, it looks much better. Not as many holes or trash and debris."

"I know, but... Where were you Toll? And where's your parents?" He asked as the both of them were curious.

"The tea will be done soon." He warned them, disregarding their questions.

Looking around for a bit, Elisa noticed the short sword, resting inside it's scabbard next to a wall.

"Is that a sword!?" Her eyes immediately lighten up as she rushed towards it.

"Whoa! Hold up there, Elisa! You don't touch other peoples stuff!" Lester stopped her as she wanted to touch it.

"Let her go. She's always been a weapons fanatic since we were younger. Just mind the sharpness." He warned while making sure that the leaves were boiling well.

"Hmm. Hmm! HMM! The grip fits well in the hand and the cross guard is just long and balanced for easy sure! Not to mention the length! It's just a little longer than a dagger and just shorter than a regular sword. The edge is sharp, while the fuller is stronger than usual and the central ridge just a tab bit more enduring for pressure. And don't get me started with the point! It's just perfect! A balanced, easy to use blade!" She put the sword back into the scabbard while waving it around carefully, getting a feeling for the blade.

"Where did you got this sword, Toll?" Lester asked, still feeling a little weird knowing that Elisa still had that obsession.

"From an ally." He responded back while setting the tea in the cups and turning off the fire.

"Ally? You sound like one of those adventurers!" Lester joked while sitting down. Grabbing the cup, he blew it for a few times before taking a sip. "Still the same, I see. You never put sugar in this." He commented.

"Old habits die hard." He joked while putting the sugar cup in between them. The two guests took a few spoon fulls of sugar and mixed in their drinks, it tasted better in their opinion. "What have you guys been doing? If you don't mind me asking, that is."

"You know me, same old same old. Farming and tending the herd." Lester responded while taking another sip from his tea.

"I've had the privilege of visiting a blacksmith! She lets me have a look around of her work and sometimes lets me help her." She said while having a look of bliss, if it involved weapons and a blacksmith, you know she was happy.

"You still haven't answered my question, Toll. What have you been doing all this time?" Lester asked again, he thought that Toll hadn't heard him before.

"...I've been going to the dungeon." He replied back while taking a sip himself. The two guests gawked there for a moment before laughing out loud.

"That's a good one, Toll! You nearly fooled me there!" He pointed out while looking at Toll, he wasn't smirking or smiling or even cracking a smile.

"What are you gonna say next? That you got that sword from another adventurer?" Elisa asked jokingly, he was still not laughing. "Don't tell me..."

"For real? You've actually been into the dungeon?" Lester asked incredulous at the statement.

"For nearly two months." He casually informed back.

"Two months? But you've been gone for more than a year now." She said while being a little confused.

"Not quite." He responded back to her while finishing his drink. "I've been here the whole time. Nobody bothered to visit, nobody bothered to question if anybody was here and nobody took the time to search the place. Just vandalized and let this place to rot for no reason."

"A whole year...? Then where are your parents, Toll?" Lester asked. No answer. "Toll, where are they?"

"Look below the tree near the fence, you'll find them." He gave him directions while standing up. "Thank you for the visit, Lester, Elisa. I'm sorry to ask, but can you please leave? I still have work to do." He informed them while grabbing the nearby hammer.

"Wait! Toll, you aren't making any sense! What do you mean they're below the tree?" Lester couldn't understand or simply put didn't want to understand in that situation.

"I need to side with Lester on this one! Toll, what do you mean you've been here for a whole year!? How come we never saw you?" She asked as he forced to leave.

"I've got work to do. Visit me when I'm not busy." He responded with that before closing the door on them.

"Toll! What do you mean? Answer me!" Lester yelled at the door, but then his attention was taken from the small tug from his sleeve.

"Lester, I think he means that." She pointed towards the graves below the tree.

"You're kidding... Right?" He asked while being taken off guard. How come he never noticed them? And the most important question was. "Why didn't our parents told us?"

They got closer to the graves and saw fresh flowers at the base. The crosses were made mediocre, but still signified the departure of a soul. Not too long, the hammering continued.

Both friends looked at each other and left having the small feeling of shame fall on their heads. All because, none cared of what happened to the family that were their neighbors for so long.

* * *

During the night, the hammering stop as promised, but even after Lester was granted his wish, he couldn't shake the feeling of uneasiness that he had. For days, Toll's work continued during the day and at night he was quiet.

One day, when Elisa visited Lester, he gathered his doubts and asked his parents.

"Mom, Dad. What happened at Crow's place?" He questioned and as if he said so, they briefly stopped their work before continuing it. "Dad?"

"Don't ask that question, son. It's better if you don't know." He replied while continuing his woodcarving, an activity that he enjoyed greatly.

"Not to be rude, mister Wull, but we've been at Toll's home and we saw the... crosses." Elisa butted in, since she asked her folks as well, but they didn't give her nothing.

"You've been to that wreck? I'm surprised that it still stands." He commented while putting more details of his latest sculpture. "A shame on what happened to it. Thugs just waltzed in and did what they wanted there from time to time." He mumbled to himself, making his voice low so that they heard it as a whisper.

"We saw Toll there." Lester called out, surprising the man. "He's been putting everything back in place and he's also become an adventurer."

"...So the boy lives. That only settles little for the weight." He responded cryptically to them. "You said he's become an adventurer?"

"Yeah! He's been going to the dungeon for the last month or so, that's how he got enough money to fix his place." Elisa pointed out while the man blew at the piece. A beautiful mature woman with a kind smile towards anyone that looked at her. No doubt it was the goddess of agriculture and harvest, Demeter.

Settling the piece down, he looked at them with a concerned look.

"How's the boy doing?" He asked while trying to feign ignorance. It worked for him.

"He's... different. He doesn't look like the cheerful guy that I knew." Lester commented while looking a bit sad.

"But in a way, he looks, I don't know, more mature?" That was all she could think. Even though Toll was just a year older than her, he already looked and sounded like an adult.

"So, it changed him that much..." Wull mumbled for himself while getting up. "Why don't you two give him some time? From what you've told me, he's been through a lot. I bet he missed you two while he was away, it's just a little hard for him nowadays to say it." He reassured them while grabbing his hoe to tend the field.

Still, the two children were still preoccupied about their friend and nobody in their families were telling them anything about it.

* * *

Orario - City

The time to go back into the dungeon is coming closer than he thought. He was able to patch his home until the shortest touch, he felt very proud of his accomplishment.

Today would be probably the last day that he would rest, hence he took his savings and entered the city. As usual, it was bursting with activity, same as any day. The market was buzzing for anyone's attention, trying to make a profit for another days worth.

People went around, some enjoying the company of others, some trying to do business and others making shady deals without others knowing. This was the city of Orario after all, everything can happen in a blink of an eye and things still stood the same.

Toll walked with a bored expression, some merchants tried to call him for some easy bargaining, but he wasn't interested. He already bought all of his groceries two days ago, making his pantry and storage room decently good, food shortage wasn't on the list for now.

Clothes? He may need some, but as long as his closet had a few decent clothes he would be alright for a while.

Tools were good as well. Buying a good scythe from his old rusty one was a good call, the blade was sharpened and the wood was easier to grab. It'll be easy to cut the weeds now.

While he was walking around, he had learned from starting adventurers that the Babel Tower was were the blacksmiths are. This was no news for him, Boris once told him that he should go to the lower levels of the blacksmith levels.

After all, the highest blacksmith price range was beyond what his current funds held. The most expensive, luxurious and strongest man made equipment. No, not man made, they were made by the master smith of the floors, Hephaestus.

Gale gave him some advice before buying anything from the lower levels, which housed lower quality items, that is to evaluate the armor by how it felt. Actually it takes more than just how it feels, how much durability it has, how much defense it gives, how much recoil can it take, how flexibility it provides in combat, how much weight does it additionally give towards his own.

But for Toll, if the armor was durable, flexible and not too heavy, it was fine. All he had to do, was find the way to the lower levels...

He bumped against a person in the middle of his thinking.

"Sorry about that." He apologized quickly before trying to find the... Uh...

"Toll?" That was a familiar voice, and it was behind him?

"Boris?" Looking back, the dwarf looked half surprised on seeing his supposed party member. "What are you doing here?" He ask curiously.

"I came here to visit one of my friends. What about you?" He asked in turn curious.

"I came to buy some armor at the lower levels, but this is the first time of me coming here..." He explained his plight and the leader gave him a small smile while gesturing him to follow him.

As he walked, he saw a spiral stairwell that either went down or up. He continued to follow the man bellow and as he went a floor below, he could see various blacksmiths working in almost unison fashion. The hammering against steel, the process of ore turning into ingots, the coal being loaded into the furnace making it roar it's flames towards the elements. It was truly a sight to be held with impression.

The lower they got, the less the hammering was heard until they reached the lower shop, where the prices were manageable.

"Knowing you, you'll probably go for the cheapest armor that is available. But that sack of Valis that you're carrying means that you'll be doing more than buying armor, so I brought us towards the floor where you can ask a blacksmith to make a weapon of your choice, for a small fee." Boris explained as they continued through the cobblestone path below them.

Shelves filled with armor pieces and weapons were stacked in various containers. From light armor to heavy, from dagger to heavy mace, this place had it all at a short price.

"Go on, have a look. I'll be next to the cleric having a small talk." Boris informed while starting to talk with the man that was bored since business was slow today.

Toll did as he was told and started to look around. He looked inside boxes, wore some armor to test it and even looked at a few swords.

"Too heavy... Not enough protection... This has holes in certain parts. This one literally broken all over." He became more disappointed as he progressed his search. The armor simply didn't felt right with him, but that was okay. He still had a lot to look around, it would just take a little longer.

Continuing to look, he searched and searched, having interested in a few pieces, but they didn't fit together which saddened him a little. A few weapons took a small shine on him as well. Some axes, some spears, heck even a bastard sword looked manageable to wield.

He jerked his head suddenly when he noticed a particular box, this one had a set of armor that was alright for once. It wasn't broken to pieces nor looked like it seen combat yet.

The armor consisted of tough, black metal while being concealed by drab, tattered cloth. Along the armor, there were blue lines around it, connecting the pieces together. The trousers are held beneath the leather boots and a rope that secures his waist, making it easier to walk quietly. Wearing the armor, he felt that it was a little big for him, but putting a squeeze here and there, the armor fit even if it looked a little bit funny.

It was okay, he just needed to grow that little and then he could use it effectively. The helmet was also part of the armor, a hood that covered the black metal helmet, protecting it from any light that came.

Honestly, the head was too big for him to wear, which means he needed to hold on to it for now. Satisfied with the armor, he went towards the cleric happy to have found something.

"Excuse me, I'd like to buy this armor. How much is it?" He asked while taking his earned dough out.

"Hmm... I see. Yes, the sum total of this armor is 8635 Valis. Due to the ragged drabs I can't really give you a high price, maybe if the armor was pristine things would be different." He informed while waiting patiently for the money.

Counting the money, he dumped the rest of his earned cash into another sack and gave the cleric his due.

"Thank you very much! If you wish to talk with the blacksmith, she's over there. Just be mindful of her rookie, she's a bit of an oddball." He warned to him and Toll nodded while heading that way anyways.

Boris was a little surprised for the kid to willingly go to a blacksmith. Their commission usually makes young adventurers avoid them, due to shortage in Valis.

Hearing the hammering, he approached towards the glowing blade that was being smacked on the anvil. Quick succession hits turned into slow strong ones and every now and then she would turn the burning blade before smacking some more. As she grabbed the hot piece of metal with big pliers, she dipped it into water to cool it down.

Then she put the blade in front of her to see if any anomalies were present that needed tending.

"Pardon me, can I have a word with you?" He called out, taking her focus for a moment to look at him. The same could be said about him staring at her.

She was a young woman, probably on her early twenties, maybe less, having a ponytail to hang her black hair back. She had a headband wrapped around her forehead, probably to make sure sweat didn't screw her work. She had brown eye color and a tanned skin, most likely due to being against the furnace all day. She wore a band around her rather small chest, a large belt that covered her stomach and shorts, letting her tanned legs which are drenched with sweat gleam the light of the fire.

"Uh... Can I help you?" She asked while continue her work. She had an order and the deadline was in four days.

"I'd like to make a request for a weapon." He went straight to the point, not trying to waste anymore of her time.

"Really? Two orders in one go, that's a new record." She stated while continuing her work. "So what do you want? A sword? A battle axe? A mace?"

"What I want, is a scythe." He ordered while noticing that the woman was staring at him with a confused look.

"A scythe? You can buy those around town! Stop wasting my time." She said begrudgingly while continuing spot an imperfection there and a cut there.

"Maybe I didn't make myself clear, what I want is a scythe for combat, a battle scythe." He clarified to her and that seemed to turn her demeanor around.

"A battle scythe! That's something that many don't ask! Oh man, gotta think of the design, the minerals, the wood, the leather. Oh ho ho! Now that's a challenge I haven't gotten in a while!" She pointed out as she started to note his order down in a small notebook. "Come back her in a week or so! I'll make you that battle scythe that you need!"

"Thank you, how much will I own you?" He asked while getting his sack of Valis.

"7000 Valis. Scythes are easy to make, but if you make it for combat, I'm gonna need a few more materials." She said while hammering again the sword piece, correcting the imperfection and taking care of the scratch.

"Alright... 7000 Valis. Here you are." He put the cash onto her workbench, she looked at it and then back at him.

"Y-you sure? Paying upfront means no take backs!" She warned him, while heading to the grindstone.

"I'm sure. I can make my money back by the time I come around here." He responded while grabbing his box. "Until one week, I'll met you again." He then proceeded to head the staircase, which Boris was waiting for him.

"Done?" He asked.

"Yes. Thank you for today Boris." He responded towards the man that gave a weak smile back.

"Don't get soft now, rookie. Tomorrow you'll be putting more strength into that dungeon." With that they left the premises.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Boris." He bid his farewell to the leader and backtracked towards his home. While walking the dirt road back to his home, Lester and Elisa waved at him. He shuffled his possession around and waved them back before entering his abode, waiting for the next day to come.


	4. Difference in level

This is a collaboration between me, FumeKnight, and LunaHalo43.

This chapter has been proof read by justforfum

* * *

9 weeks have passed since Toll reintegrated himself back in the dungeon with Boris and his party. Day and night were almost the same schedule, head in the morning and leave in the evening.

Through those 9 weeks, visible changes occurred on him however faint. His combat experience increased more than before, making him finally have some prediction on the monsters behavior, though his strength was pushed ever so slightly and his ability to dodge improved, everything else remained the same.

Except for his proficiency with the sword and his new battle scythe.

During those weeks, Boris instructed him how to properly use his sword, finding a style that he was comfortable and to switch between basic style and his natural style, which consisted of using the rest of his body to attack or to fool the opponent.

His scythe however, he learned on how to utilize the full extent of his new long weapon on his own, since neither Boris nor Gale nor Layla knew how to use it effectively since the weapon was unconventional to begin with. Gale voiced his disapproval at it, saying that farm tools belong in the farm, even now he keeps his stand on it.

From what Toll could experience first hand, the blade wasn't the whole of the weapon, the snath was made out of iron and it was longer than Toll's current height being 6 inches higher than him, Toll is 157 cm in total while the scythe is 172 cm. The handle was positioned the the middle of the shaft, made out of leather to not slip his grip even using his gauntlets it was a surprise to not feeling the weapon slip. The blade was 90 cm long with tempered steel etched firmly on the ring of the snath, being fused together to avoid the blade to simply fall.

Yet despite Toll having a firm grasp on how the tool can become a weapon, he sometimes forgets how long it is and trips himself towards the ground. A hard thing to grasp was the size and the length of the weapon. With the short sword, the size and length were optimal for him to start off, but the scythe offered more to the table which meant that it held both disadvantages and advantages in battle.

If he somehow was able to grow a little more in height or to learn where the swing leads to, he would be relatively better fighting, but as of right now he is steadily learning well on how weapons act differently to each other.

* * *

Dungeon - floor 3

"Eeek!" A goblin screeched as it rushed towards Toll. He on the other hand rolled out of the way and did a rising slash, to a kobold that narrowly missed him as he moved.

Another one came, wanting to seize the opportunity to land a hit only to get parried. This surprised the kobold, as he watched the boy sheathe his sword and bring out the the other, more menacing weapon.

Toll gripped firmly on the handle and gave a stunning blow on the humanoid's chin with the tang of the scythe before rotating it and hitting the goblin's head using the same part. At the same time he struck the kobold in the stomach with the short end of the shaft. Still in momentum, the boy leaped to the side and then rotated his weapon once more, only this time using the blade and piercing the monsters back, making the steel pierce savagely through its stomach before the beast dissipated in a plume of smoke.

The goblin, recuperating his senses rushed once more and another one did the same from the shadows, but with his experience Toll simply ducked and rolled out of the way before cleaving through both of them at the same time, effectively killing them.

However, there was another enemy that he left unattended. Looking at the lizard climbing the wall and ready itself to drop himself on top of him, he immediately sprung into action and dodged the attack, while the enemy exposed his soft belly.

Running, the boy drew his sword and tried to plunge his blade on the beast, but his long weapon got in the way and he tripped, losing the chance for a quick fight. Getting up, he dodged another belly flop from it and dual wielded both weapons, sword on his left and scythe on his right, though the longer weapon was much more difficult to handle with one hand.

Using the scythe, he stabbed the blade on the reptilians eye before using the shaft as leverage and pulling himself up on the trashing monster and finally stabbing the sword in the back multiple times, piercing the hide. Soon, the monster disintegrated and its magic stone fell on the ground.

"Hmm... Not too shabby. You still need some work, especially with that long weapon of yours, that single mistake could've costed you good." Boris advised while giving Toll a short smile. "Though saying that, you've improved. Not bad kid, not bad at all."

"'Bout time if anything." Gale voiced his annoyance while releasing an arrow to a kobold in the distance, out of boredom. "Still think that weapon you had made was a bad choice."

"We'll see about that." Toll spoke up, catching the elf off guard.

"Well now, someone is feeling confidant." He replied back while giving him the mean eye, the boy gave back the same coin. Even though they didn't like each other that much they're now starting to finally open up, an inch at a time.

"Now, now, you two. I'm very happy about you, Toll! I just know that your Familia is happy as well!" Layla patted the young boy's shoulder, while he nervously chuckled.

"I still haven't told them..." He thought to himself while they talked with each other, leading themselves out of the dungeon for a successful day yet again. 17 monsters slayed today, a new record in his book.

Through the weeks, he's gathered a good amount of Valis, reaching 352000 Valis due to Toll always heading into the dungeon and only having a few days of rest to buy supplies for both his farm and his home.

His crops were growing nicely and his house received new furnishings. No more broken stuff, he had enough of seeing those last remnants of his old house. Soon, he could probably salvage more of his land than a simple plot for other stuff.

"Though for that I had to make space, dig out a few things, take a few stuff out of the shack..." He thought to himself while moving with them and mumbling.

"There he goes again, thinking to himself." Layla let loose a puff of air as they got used to it when Toll started to act this way.

"Hey, snap out of it!" Gale swung an open palm on the boys back snapping him out of his trance. He looked at the elf.

"Do you really need to do that, every time I think to myself?" He asked with his eye slightly twitching.

"Yes, yes I do." He replied back with a smirk on his face.

They'd argue if it wasn't for Boris to warn them that they were close to the exit.

As soon as they left the dungeon, they had a little small talk, as if they belonged together in a proper party. It was a nice moment before...

"Hey! Toll, over here!" A familiar voice called him out, making the boy look around until he found the tomboy-ish goddess.

"Oh no..." He mentally cursed himself as she made her way to him with that unfaltering smile.

"Someone you know?" Boris asked curious between the boy and the goddess.

"You can say that." He replied back with an irritated tone.

"My, oh my! So this is the party that you've talked about!" Loki said with that plastered smile of hers. The boy rolled his eyes as this was gonna be another long day.

Around 5 weeks ago, Loki and Toll started to see each other, coincidentally.

* * *

5 weeks ago

"Another day done. Phew." Toll let loose a huff of air as he left the dungeon early. Lately his muscles would tense up on certain situations that he would rather be out of, taking it easy today was advised by Layla and Boris backed her up. Gale on the other hand told him to tough it out, but still it was being too much.

Maybe he was overthinking things, but it couldn't be a coincidence for his tendons to start exerting pressure on him like that. Either it was from overworking his body, again, or maybe he was reaching a limit.

As he walked with his thinking, he bumped against someone without him noticing and knocking them to the ground.

"Ow!" The other muttered.

"Sorry about that!" He extended his hand before noticing that it was Loki that fell. Toll contemplated on just leaving her on the floor, but she did help him get clearance on the dungeon. "Oh, it's you." With an annoyed tone he looked at her, and she returned his gaze angrily.

"Look where you're going next time!" She replied while accepting his help, dusting away her clothes before looking at him. "Say, do I know you?" She asked with a curious look.

"You're joking right?" He asked dumbfounded as she studied him better. She noticed an odd scythe on his back and that helped her recognize him.

"Wait, you're the kid that went in the dungeon without a Familia!" She shockingly pointed out to him, surprising him. "I could barely recognize you in that armor!"

His right cheek rose slightly confused, he didn't change that much just changed armor and weapon.

"For a goddess, you're not good at keeping track of people, you know that?" He bluntly said that.

"Well, I'm not all seeing! That job is for another one." She replied back while looking him from top to bottom. "My offer still stands you know, how about you join me?"

"I'll say no. I don't need a Familia." He replied quickly, making her chuckle a bit.

"Such a stubborn child! Though I have to say, that's not a bad thing." She added while showing interest in the boy. "Say, if you won't join my Familia, yet, then how about we have a little talk over at the local pub that I know? I can guarantee you, you'll love it!"

"Uh..." This was unusual for him. A god was asking his company. A few negative emotions rose from that question, however, Rose's words rung on his head.

"If you see her, try to be nice to her." That request was hidden, but somehow he remembered it.

"Fine... I actually need to talk with you too." He replied reluctantly.

"That's a good boy! Once we're at it, we'll have a lot to talk about!" She replied with a grin on her face. It was evening, and yet Toll thought that he wasn't heading home anytime soon.

He arrived at the Hostess of Fertility, the name of the pub and after he entered he saw a couple of adventurers sitting down on tables and stools, just having a good rest from the hard work they've been doing today, and some just wanted to lay about and do nothing.

"Mama Mia! Bring me something to drink and don't hold out on me!" Loki yelled in a friendly manner towards the head.

"Coming right up!" She yelled back while attending another client.

The goddess hopped on one of the stools and bounced excitedly on her seat. Toll sat next to her and a waitress came to him.

"Welcome to the Hostess of Fertility! Can I get your order, little guy?" A cat person asked with a joyful expression, she had brown hair and eyes with cat ears and a tail of the same color, while wearing the outfit of the Hostess of Fertility: a green, long puffed sleeve with wide-neck and white trimming, white collar, above the knee dress, a white Apron and headband, small orange bow under the collar, black leggings and short brown, ankle boots.

Toll thought to himself, but right now he wasn't particularly hungry, however he was thirsty from all the battles today.

"Some tea would be nice." He asked and she took note before attending another person.

"Tea, huh? Never thought you'd be the type of kid that likes that." Loki commented as a large woman slammed a large mug of ale in front of her.

"There ya go! Should I put it on the tab, or will you cash out?" She asked and Loki took out her satchel, only to find that she didn't had enough dough to go around.

"Hehehe... You see," The goddess was sweating a bit on the predicament, she forgot to bring more Valis with her.

At any given point, Toll would've laughed and took in her situation as a grace, however Rose's request popped again.

"How much is the drink?" He asked to which the owner looked at him with a serious look.

"10 big ones." She answered and her grabbed his own satchel and gave her a bag full of Valis.

"Should be enough to cover her drink." He replied back while the cat came back and gave him his tea. He gave a quick "Thank you" to her before taking a small sip.

"A kid buying a goddess a drink, today's generation moves fast." She joked before taking the gold and cashing it on the treasury.

Meanwhile, Loki was thanking him with fake tears coming out of her eyes.

"That was just pocket change to you, wasn't it?" He voiced out while resting his cup down. She looked at him with a confused look.

"What do you mean, pocket change?"

"Took me two days to get that much Valis, next time bring your own." He coldly stated while looking around the pub, it was a strange place for him, though he deemed it not a bad one.

"Two days?" She asked mildly surprised, before mumbling to herself, a few words escaped like "That's not normal..." She then looked at her drink before taking a chug at it, drowning her thoughts for a moment. Loki then recalled that he wanted to talk with her for something. "So, what did you want to talk about? You didn't buy my drink for no reason, did you?"

He looked at the steam his tea was emanating, dancing freely towards the ceiling, his reflection displayed the expression of someone not amused.

"I just did what Rose told me to. To try and be nice to you, so don't think this too much. And..." He clicked his tongue, he didn't want to say the next words, but he had to. "I'm sorry to how I acted when we first met and thank you."

Loki was able to grasp his emotions, the child beside her held great resentment towards her although he was making an effort to show her that he appreciated her actions back then.

"Say, why do you hate Gods so much? I just can't seem to understand it, was it a bad misunderstanding between us or is it something else?" She asked, curious about the boy. She'd seen people hate the gods, but this much loathing was somewhat rare.

Toll flashed her a displeased look before taking another sip, to calm him down and to recompose himself. She didn't have to know, but inside of his growing mind he needed to talk someone about it, even if it was with the person he hates.

"I hate them because I was taught that the gods see everything and know everything. When I was at my lowest, I prayed and prayed and prayed, for months that a God could hear me and help me. Nobody came, not even the neighbors, the people that I considered my friends came to see how I was doing.

But what hurt the most, was that no god answered my prayers, even though I sincerely believed that one day they would come by and save me. In the end, I learned the hard way that if you want to make a stand, you have to be the one doing it. Not some ethereal being that didn't even know who you were or a person that you considered your friend."

As he explained, Loki's drink slowly lowered onto the balcony, each word made her happy expression slowly fade.

He as well didn't talk, since he told her everything she needed to know. It was unusually good to talk about it, as if explaining made a small weight on his body lift, but his anger still remained.

"I'm sorry that had to happen, kid. But no god is all seeing or all knowing, if there were one I would've known." She said while drinking away what brewing feelings she was starting to grow. "But, to have gone through that at your age, I'm impressed. And I'm even more impressed that you, not even being a level one adventurer, was able to survive for so long in there."

"I can't take all the credit, I've had help a long the way." He told her while taking another swing at his tea.

"Oooh~, a party took a shine on you! I'm glad to hear it it!" Her joy slowly built up again, as the mood got better for a moment.

"I don't know why though, but I'm glad that they were there." He let loose a kind smile, how rare those were nowadays. Loki couldn't help but contain herself to not spoil the moment.

"Hey, I know you hate us gods and whatnot, but how about we catch a drink from time to time? Maybe you'll see that we aren't so bad as you think, what do you say?" She asked, with low hope that he would accept. A person can't change from day to night after all.

"Hmm... I'll think about it." He replied while finishing his drink and calling the maid from before. "How much is for the tea?"

"200 Valis, nya." She happily informed before getting the amount of cash. "Thank you! We'll be waiting for your return, nya!"

He simply raised his hand as a farewell and then left Loki to herself. Meanwhile, the goddess noticed her drink tasted different today, the reason? Who knows.

* * *

"You must be the team leader, how's Toll been holding up?" She asked Boris with a smile.

"It has been rough for a while, but right now he can deal with the monsters on his own. He still needs more experience, but right now he's a diamond in the rough." He explained while patting the boy.

Gale and Layla, mostly the Hume Bunny, were curious if the goddess Loki was Toll's Familia.

"Hey, is Toll in your Familia?" She asked with a small hop in her step.

"Hmm? I wish he was! But the boy just declines me every time I ask, though don't you worry! One day I will have him in my Familia." She proclaimed while pointing at him.

"Then you can expect a long wait, Loki." He replied back with some annoyance in his tone.

"If Loki isn't Toll's goddess, then who is it?" Gale thought while looking at Toll. He never saw his teammates or god around to greet him and he always dodged the question about them.

The gears started running on the team and before Boris could ask a question, Toll interjected

"So, what do you want Loki? Another drink together?" He asked, wanting to finish the conversation quickly.

"Ah, yes. I want you to do a favor for me, if you don't mind." She asked while holding up a finger.

"A favor? If it means to end the day quicker, then what is it?"

"You see, I have a girl that hasn't had practice in around three weeks from now. I was gonna ask if you could spar with her, to test her out right now." She asked not feigning anything.

"A spar? Don't you have more people to spar with her and why me exactly?" Valid questions.

"You see, most of my Familia are busy heading into the dungeon to grow themselves and the ones back at home are tending to the others wounds or simply resting their bodies. I'd thought, why not ask you to have one measly spar with her? She never fought against a scythe wielder and what better person to ask, than the boy that was a farmer before?" She explained while twirling her finger

"I don't know, this looks like a hassle to me." He responded back while scratching the back of his head.

"What's this? Is the little guy afraid of a little girl? And you call yourself a man?" Gale provoked.

"What'd you say? I'm not afraid of no one!" It worked like a charm.

"Then you'll have that spar with her?" Loki asked and for a moment he hesitated before agreeing to do it. "Great! Here, I'll lead the way. The three of you can join us if you want."

"Is that so? Then I'll enjoy seeing little Toll over here getting defeated by a little girl." Gale provoked him further.

"I'll make you eat those words." He replied back while eyeing him back with a competitive look.

"Now, now you two." Layla tried to calm down the situation, which for once it worked and started to talk with them about battle plans against the girl. They were so engrossed with their talk that they didn't listen to what Boris and Loki were saying

"This isn't to test her, is it?" He asked while rubbing his chin.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." She replied with the same happy face as before.

"Tell me, Loki. How much do you know about the kid?"

"Hmm... I know a few things, mostly about what happened to him and whatnot, but I bet that you guys know more than I do."

"You'd be surprised on how much we don't know. For example, I bet those two haven't figured it out yet."

"Oh, so you do know? Color me surprised! How?"

"He's shown a few times that he can't grow, but what sealed the deal was his strength. At this point, he should've reached enough to go below floor 3, yet he still remains there. I still have hope that he isn't what I think he is, but if he is... I'm afraid I can't help him anymore." He explained while looking at the ground.

"You have a good eye, Boris. I know that you're trying to look out for him, but at this point helping him anymore will not make him step up, not until he accepts the help of a god." She advised as they were close to reaching her front gates.

"I know. But if he loses today, all doubts will be clear, especially for the two of them."

"And for you as well." She caught his attention with that. "You'd be surprised on how much the boy likes you. He keeps on talking about you with such respect that I'm a little envious. Will you tell him yourself?"

"Yes, I will." He answered without hesitating.

"Heh, you veterans sure can deal with these situations well." She commented as they passed through the gates.

"Since when can we deal with situations like these well?" Boris thought to himself as he knew a handful that had to leave good adventurers down. It ate them from the inside and he was no different.

"Welcome back, miss Loki! Are these guests of yours?" An adventurer from her Familia asked as he studied the people.

"They are! Hey, do me a favor and bring me Ais would you? I found a sparring partner for her, oh and bring her to the courtyard."

"Right away!" He did a small bow and then ran inside to get the girl from her room.

"So, who is this girl or are you going to keep her a secret from me?" Toll asked while having his interest peaked on the large place. It was easily four times bigger than his farm, maybe more.

"Of course I'll tell you! You're fighting a level 1 girl, her name is Ais and she's a swords user. I guess I should warn you," Her words dragged on as a young blonde girl with a small rapier on her side appeared behind her. "She's only 7 years old."

Toll had his hand over his scythe, but then lowered it out of incredulous belief.

"You're joking, right?" He asked her, if she was and then was confirmed that she wasn't. "Oh lordy, what did I get myself into..."

"Don't get too cocky, Toll. She may be 7 years old, but she is an adventurer. Don't let your guard down." Boris warned him, making the young boy straighten his act.

"Now then, why don't you two introduce yourselves before we start?" Loki asked before lightly pushing Ais forward. The girl fumbled a bit before standing as straight as she could, though she was smaller by a good portion.

Looking up, she saw a different look in the boy's eyes than the others, it carried an emotion that she didn't know, but one thing was for certain was the intensity. For him on the other hand, he saw her eyes, pure and yet to be defiled.

"Ais."

"Toll."

They just spoken their first names before having a small staring context before the silence was beginning to affect Toll, making him take a step back.

"Let me put the rules down. You win when the other is subjugated or when he yells defeat, no trying to kill the other or even playing dirty. When you're ready pull out your weapon." Loki explained while taking Boris and his team towards a bench and looking at the two kids.

"Who do you think will win?" Loki asked them.

"Toll, of course! He's been with us for three months, he's got things down good." Gale spoke up while sitting down.

"For once, I agree with you! There's no doubt that he's ready to fight against another person!" Layla chirped while hopping in place.

"The girl." Boris spoke surprising the two team members.

"Uh... You okay Boris? I think you're cheering for the wrong horse." Gale spoke, but the dwarf said nothing more. "Hey, leave the jokes for when the kid shows us his progress!"

Ais had her weapon ready and waited for her opponent to draw his, meanwhile Toll was thinking to himself carefully.

"Not trying to kill... I can't afford to give her that handicap. I'm not a real adventurer, so I need to try and kill her, that's my best bet. First of all, start small, as Boris said to me a few weeks ago. Look at the enemies movements, as Gale advised and dodge when you can like Layla." As he finish his thought process he reached for his short sword and held it up on the air in front of Ais.

"At least he learned the code of sword users." Loki taught to herself as they closed each other.

"Don't hold back." He told her before making contact with her blade, this caught her attention before nodding to him.

Taking a few steps back, they entered their stances. Toll circled around her, trying to find a blind spot, there were a few open ones but they might be feints, while Ais carefully watched the boy.

Seeing an opening, Ais rushed in and clashed swords with him immediately. The force that he felt was higher than the kobolds in the dungeon, maybe it was five of them at the same time. Still, his feet slid only a bit and pushed back a little before they started letting loose a flurry of slashes at each other, just one good hit was enough to kill the other.

"H-hey, isn't that a little dangerous?" Layla asked as they took a step back and started running side by side, before trying to cut the other.

"You heard him, he wants a serious battle, because this spar is a real life battle to him, against an adventurer." Boris responded to her, they stopped and Ais gave more power to her swing with the momentum, making him skip backwards.

She then ran forward, her blade ready to deliver a good strike, that is if Toll would let her. He rolled to the side and took a few steps back every time she was close to him.

"That's good, Toll. Keep watching her movements and when she slips up, attack her!" Gale thought to himself, recalling on what he taught Toll.

In a few moments, Ais did slip up, enough that the boy took advantage of it and elbowed her side followed up by a straight punch to the face and ending it with a kick to the stomach, making her skid a few feet away.

She staggered a bit, gasping before recomposing herself. The look in her eyes meant that she wouldn't make the same mistake again.

His hands trembled a bit, the flurry from before almost made them numb and not matter how much he clenched the hilt, only some sensation was present there.

Speeding up, she slide towards him and clashed again, with even more force than before, pushing him back significantly. Seeing him struggle, she quickly directed his blade upwards, making it flying high and with the momentum she kicked him on the side of the face before coming down with the intent to end it.

"Toll, get out of there!" Layla yelled, but the stubborn boy didn't listen and grabbed his scythe behind his back and buckled his knees. With the extra weight of the momentum, they trembled greatly and his weapon was pushed down so much that it was planted on his back.

He let out a scream before rotating in place, using the end of the snath to spear her gut and shove her away from him. She coughed a bit with her hand, while he gasped for air, the pressure was bigger than he thought, her strength was unbelievable for a 7 year old, or maybe it was a common trait of people that were level 1, maybe she's the weakest of the bunch, heck if he knew.

"He's holding up pretty well!" Loki chirped before she saw her child. "Though, in the end it comes to who possess Falna and those who don't." She thought to herself while enjoying this little sparring match.

Boris clenched his knuckles, wanting to stop the match. If Toll was exactly what he thought he was, then this is a cruel way just to find out the truth between their differences.

"Come on, Toll! Are you just gonna let a little girl like her step on you?" Gale provoked as he saw the boy getting tired already.

Even though he was being insulted, his concentration dulled the surrounding sounds around him and mainly focused on the girl. This was the hardest battle he ever fought and it was not against a monster, but a little girl.

"How infuriating..." He thought to himself while two handing his scythe and getting ready to strike again, now that he wasn't using a sword his style changed and that was a disadvantage for the little girl.

This time, he went forward with the blade whistling through the air as if cutting it. Sensing the danger, the girl took a step back, but the difference in range soon was apparent as the weapon was behind her, ready to strike.

With a quick flick, she only got a grazed cut on her right shoulder, before taking several steps back.

The two looked at each other again, locking their eyes and gauging each other's abilities. Both suffered some damage, but most of it landed on Toll.

He arced his weapon backwards with the end snath on top of his shoulder, ready for a counter. The girl sprinted forward, ignoring the easily telling move and ducked under the blow, expecting to take an easy opening, only to be hit on the head by the end part and then kicked away again.

He was being careful on how to approach his opponent, even now his last strike was luck based.

"Oooh~, that's some good control on his weapon! Which one of you three taught him that?" Loki asked curiously.

"Toll taught himself actually! Not everyone sees a scythe as a weapon, so he learned by trial and error for all this time." Layla explained, spilling a few hints of being proud of him.

"Self taught, heh! You truly are an odd one, child." She thought to herself while watching Boris' serious expression, sometimes she could see him jump in his place every time he saw an opening that Ais would try to take.

He sprinted forward and stopped midway, triggering a feint and making the girl be on guard before taking a step back. Mind tricks, this was a good play to stress the opponent and tricking her to reveal an opening.

Repeating the process, except this time he didn't stop and struck her above her knee with the end of the snath before giving her a shoulder bash and taking a step back. Although, it didn't go as planned and she struck his abdomen with a fist before kicking his leg, making his lose balance.

It seemed as though she had the upper hand, but he struck the ground with his weapon and used it to boost him away from her next attack. As he landed on the ground, he took a knee, letting out a low grunt.

"H-hey, he doesn't look too good." Layla warned, noticing his plight.

Still, Boris didn't say anything and continued to watch attentively.

Without a moment to recover, Ais rushed forward and unleashed slash after slash on him, making him go into the defense. Once again, his hands were becoming numb and he decided to attack before he wasn't able to feel them and did an arc down, just cutting a few strands of hair as Ais already sidestepped to the side and embedded the hilt of her sword to his side.

He grunted before trying to attack her once more time with his scythe, only for her to kick him away, making him roll on the ground next to his sword and his scythe out of reach.

A few seconds passed and Toll wasn't getting up, Gale and Layla were starting to become antsy.

"Toll! Stop screwing around and get back up! She's tired already, get up and finish this stupid sparring match!" Gale yelled to him, trying to incentive the boy to continue. Ais was indeed tired, but she had in her to keep going for a while longer.

"You can do it, Toll! Just get back up!" Layla cheered back, but still no response.

"You two... He's-" Just as Boris was starting to talk, he heard something scratch the earth and saw Toll slowly getting back up with his short sword in his hand. "This boy... even being damaged that much, he keeps on fighting? Why Toll?" The veteran asks in his mind.

Toll takes a wobbly step forward and then knees again before rising up, releasing a war cry inside of him.

"Boris... you once said... that if a person is stronger than you... never stop fighting against them. Because running and lying there... is the most disrespectful thing you can do to them! So I'll keep fighting... even if I can't fight tomorrow or the day after that, I'll give it my all until the very end!" He mumbled to himself as he grit his teeth and marched forward, holding his blade with both hands in the style that the veteran taught him.

The people around him were shocked on how much the veteran was able to impact the boy, to the point where he would carry with him the words that Boris imparted. The dwarf for a moment was stunned, before pride started to overwhelm him and for the first time since the match started, he didn't care if Toll was just a civilian in a losing fight.

"Go, Toll! Give her every single thing, that you have!" Boris cheered as if a ember in his being started to rise and now it was burning a beautiful and powerful flame.

Ais was also reinvigorated by the will of fighting in Toll and decided to release any kind of guard in her, because she had a feeling that he would also do the same.

With a grunt, he sprinted forward and clashed against her, pushing her back before letting loose a few slashes, pairing with her.

For a sparring match, it was intense that even the little girl couldn't help but feel infected by the sheer emotion that each strike held.

"Her stomach is open!" Toll yelled in his head and punched her, making her grunt a bit before pushing him back and punching him to the side of his face again. "Don't fall down yet! Keep going!"

He pushed back forcing a standstill between the two, he struggled more while she was trying her best to overwhelm him. Then, he headbutted her forehead, disrupting her concentration for a bit, enough for him to take a small breather.

"Come on! Come on! Give me a opening! I just need one!" He screamed in his mind as she jumped in the air. "T-that's it! Endure it and finish it!"

Just then, he was heavily kicked to the side of the head, anyone would've lost consciousness with that kick.

"It's over." Loki thought, as he saw the boy's body slowly falling down in slow motion with Ais.

"DON'T LOSE CONSCIOUSNESS! IT'S RIGHT THERE! TAKE IT! TAKE IT!" With a hand, he grabbed the girl by the neck and slammed her down on the ground, with the sudden shock, she didn't know what to do and Toll already had his weapon up.

...

But he never called out for her to surrender.

"T-Toll?" Gale asked as the boy was still like stone, not moving an inch.

"I see... so that's his limit of being a civilian. It's remarkable, but if Ais wasn't holding back a little bit, he wouldn't have gone that far." The adventurer said while the other members were still stuck with the conclusion.

The girl in question had her eyes glued to the vacant eyes of Toll, looking at her with the most determined expression she ever saw. She slowly extended her hand and lightly touched his right cheek, before he fell to her side unconscious.

"Toll!" Layla was the first to spring into action and took a look at his body. Black spots covered his arms and some parts were swelling from the strikes that he received, it appeared that he hurt his teeth by gritting them too much, making blood spill to the side. "Oh dear god! Please, bring the first aid kit!" She requested while using her magic to try and soothe the wounds that he got.

Loki whistled to herself. She saw that Ais didn't hold back whatsoever, which means that the boy was able to hold his ground better than what other people could around his level, or lack of.

"Well, that was a good sparring match! I don't think I ever saw him that motivated to defeat someone! What do you say, Boris? Does this reveal anything to you guys?" She asked with the same smile as before.

"Yeah, it did." The team leader responded while tapping Gale's shoulder, waking him from his trance and telling him to get the scythe. "It said loud and clear. That boy, will become an outstanding adventurer, even if he is still just a civilian now."

Boris walked over to the boy and to take the sword, but he noticed that the hand still had a good grip on it.

"A fight until the very end. I'm proud of you kid, very." He said with earnest words. It had been a long time since he found a youth like this, to take his words and make them into their own power to continue.

"Boris, I have it. What should we do with him?" He asked with some anger towards the boy.

"We'll take him to his home, it's the least we can do for what we watched today."

"Are you kidding!? Why should we help him? He lied to us!" Gale yelled towards his leader.

"He must've had his reasons, Gale."

"Oh, he had! I know everything from Rose and the boy didn't had much choice than to venture into the dungeon." Loki butted in.

"Not much choice!? He could've asked his parents for help! Not just go into that place that could've killed him in the first floors!" Gale refuted.

"Oooh, so you don't know... You see, he doesn't have his parents. Not anymore." She informed them, making them look at her incredulous.

"What?" The elf asked.

"It's been a year or so since he lost them, towards a bunch of adventurers that were from the bad apple. And when the day came that he couldn't live the same way as before, he took a stand, harboring everything since then and placing his anger towards the people that didn't extend their hand to help him. Even rejecting the gods for not listening to his cries." She explained to them as Rose said to her.

The elf looked at the boy and finally regret fell upon him.

"Kid... We never knew... I... damn it all..." All the bad things he said and how he addressed his parents finally caught up to him, making him wish he never said them in the first place.

Layla was speechless as she heard what the person she's been healing with her magic all this time has been through, it made her look the boy in a different way in which she could feel his struggles through all this time.

"Would you know where his house is?" Boris asked, wanting to send the boy home.

"Hmm... I remember that he once told me that he lived outside of town, around the fields. Your best bet would be there." She told them as she signaled Ais to get up.

"That's all we need to know, thank you." The dwarf gave a slight bow to Loki before seeing that Layla did her best to heal the black marks. "If you'll excuse us." The three adventurers left with the boy being settled behind the dwarf.

Ais looked at the gate and had her gaze locked on the boys back. His will back there was palpable enough to fuel the girl's will to grow stronger.

"Ais~! Come on here! I think we're having some good dinner today!" With that, her stomach growled with hunger, embarrassing her in the process.

As the three of the walked around, Gale and Layla were feeling off while making their way towards Toll's home.

"You know what, Boris? I think I'm gonna skip seeing the twerps home. I need a drink first." He gave the weapon to him while walking away.

"I'll keep an eye on him. If Toll wakes up, tell him that I did the best I could to heal him." She asked him as she followed the elf that was in a bad mood.

Boris simply sighed and continued his track, leaving the gates of the city and making his march into the crop fields.

The day was coming to an end as the sun started to set down and the moon to start rising.

"Ugh... Boris?" Toll finally came to his senses while noticing that the dwarf was taking him towards a familiar road.

"You awake, Toll? I would ask if you slept well, but my back isn't probably the most comfortable place to sleep." He laughed at his own joke while the boy still was wondering why they were walking here.

Until it hit him.

"I lost, didn't I?" He asked towards the dwarf, he responded with a simple yes. "So... I guess you figured it out that I'm not..." He didn't finish his sentence, but the veteran adventurer knew what he tried to say.

"I know and I'm a little disappointed that you hadn't told us, Toll." The boys expression saddened hearing that. "But your last bit of strength at the end made up for it, kid. I'm proud of you, because of that."

Praise. For once he was praised by his accomplishments. When was the last time that he heard that? Probably when his father was still alive.

"We also know about your past, kid." That bit of news took him by surprise.

"How-..?"

"Loki told us." He answered quickly.

"This is why I shouldn't tell people like her about my personal life..." He was annoyed that she told them.

"But if you didn't, we wouldn't know on how much you went through, kid. I can say that I'm honestly surprised that you could carry such weight on your shoulders and still go on. Kids around your age shouldn't go through what you did."

The boy didn't respond back as they continued, because the dwarf was right. No kid should go through what he did, and yet for some reason he feels as though he wasn't the only one.

He then told the party leader that his place a little bit longer, second gate on the left.

When they arrived, Boris opened the door to Toll's home and set him down, thinking that he could at least walk to his bed.

"Hey, Boris. I'm out of the team, aren't I?" He asked the grown man.

"Yes, you are." He replied back. It stung deep in him, but it was already decided beforehand.

"However!" The boy looked up. "As soon as you become a true adventurer, one with a god's grace, you can come back. This team grew rather close to you, so until you take a step forward, we'll be waiting for you with open arms, kid. Is that okay with you?"

Toll bit his lip and couldn't contain himself before giving the man that he respected a hug, letting loose a tear or two, telling him thank you over and over and over.

When he calmed down, the dwarf bid him farewell and behind the eyes of that adventurer, the flame from before was lit and reignited for another days work for tomorrow.


	5. A slow heal

Enjoy the chapter.

* * *

Orario, Toll's farm - Afternoon

4 weeks passed since Toll was excluded from Boris' party. During that time, he spent most of his time in his farm, going to the dungeon from time to time to not let his body become lax due to lack of practice.

Despite the warnings of Rose, he head into danger once more, only this time he was accustomed to how the monsters on the first 3 floors acted. It still was a bit difficult, especially now that he was alone. Having no one to back him back or keep an eye on him, he had to be extra vigilant. It served him a great reminder that not always will he go with someone and to polish his senses.

His crops have grow a good bit, but they were still a bit early to harvest. So in the mean time, he was doing some light practice with his sword.

"Hey, Toll! You ready for round two?" Lester asked him with a wooden sword on his hip. He was covered in bruises since he started two weeks ago practicing with Toll.

"You mean round 32." Elisa corrected him as she tagged along to see them.

"Don't be a kill joy! I nearly had him last time!" He replied back with a slight tone of confident.

"You weren't even close, not by a long shot!" She responded back with some hard facts. She'd been coming to visit when she can, which is rarely since she's also helping a blacksmith by being their assistant for the time being.

"You really weren't. And I'm just using a wooden sword for practice too, you know. If I were to use my scythe..."

"Don't even go there! Not even by an inch!" Lester quickly panicked with his hand going all over the place. Elisa found it funny that he actually thought that Toll would use his real weapons.

"That was a joke." He responded to him with a stoic face, but his lips were threatening to creep up a smirk. Lester then pointed at him surprised.

"Toll made a joke!"

"Even I know how to make a joke, you know." He replied feeling a bit misjudged by his friend.

"Sorry, sorry! I was just surprised there! It's not often that you joke around." He answered him while scratching his right cheek, a small sweat drop rolled down next to his finger.

"How's that god thing going for you? Still don't feel like getting one?" Elisa asked him a bit worried about him. Not too long he told them that he was out of the party because he needed a god's blessing to become a real adventurer.

"...Not yet. But if I want to earn more profit from the dungeon, I need to go deeper and to go deeper I need to get stronger. With how things are going for now, I can safely get some income, so taking care of this place is easy for now. But..."

"It's not enough, right?" Lester entered the conversation, looking at him with a conflicting smile to him.

"Yeah... It's not enough. That girl, Ais, was strong. There is so much difference between a regular person and a level 1 adventurer, it's insane. I want to fight her again in the same ground. But to do that-"

"You need a god's blessing." Elisa finished his sentence. "It's unfair, isn't it? If you don't have the talent or the good grace of a friend to coax you in or even looking strong, then you can kiss your entry to one of the Familias goodbye."

"Yeah... But still, I'm not ready to bow down to a god. For now, I'll manage, nothing new there." He responded back with some conviction to himself, but it'll only be a manner of time before his body runs on fumes.

"You know... You don't necessarily need to bow your head for a god." Elisa spoke up, catching Toll's attention.

"Go on."

"You know the Soma Familia, right? Their members are completely enthralled by their gods wine, that they literally go on a limb to have another taste from it. They respect more of the drink than their god himself. You could do what they do! You don't need to bow down to a god, but just take advantage of him!" She told him what she just thought, but immediately got chopped on the head by Lester.

"That is literally the stupidest thing you've said! Toll can't simply go and imitate those guys! Despite everything, he still has some humility in his heart!"

"Some? Ouch." Another joke, but it was swept under the rug. He could imitate them, only getting the privilage to improve, but as Lester said, he can't lower himself to their level. If he's going to be with a god, it needs to be a compromise between him and whoever he chooses, not the scumbag way.

"I have to agree with Lester on this one, Elisa. But good thinking, nonetheless." He at least was appreciative of the gesture.

"Hey, hey! Enough talk! Let's get down to business! I still want to learn how to use a sword here!" He gripped his wooden swords handle and pointed at Toll.

"Eager much? This is going to be like last time. Hey Toll, mind me taking a look at your scythe? It's just a masterpiece that I NEED to see!" She asked with excitement, hopping into place.

"Go ahead, just be careful. It's a little heavier than a regular one. And don't swing it around!" He warned her, since last week she was swinging his sword and accidentally hit the balcony, chipping the wood.

"Yes, sir!" She responded to him carefree.

"I'm serious. You hit my house even for the smallest scratch, I'll ban you from coming here." He made sure she got the message.

"Y-yes, sir..." She gulped nervously when his tone shifted. He then looked at Lester, gripping his wooden sword as well.

"Whenever you're ready." He signaled him with a focused look and relaxed posture.

"AAAH!" Lester yelled out with his blade up, charging at Toll. He came down with the blade, only to be flicked to the side like nothing. This registered to him slowly before getting struck on his right side, followed with a slash behind his knee and then kicked away. "Damn it! You got lucky!" He got up a little wobbly before crashing with his blade on him.

"Why do you want to learn how to use a sword, Lester? Do you want to be an adventurer as well?" He asked him calmly while pushing him back.

"Nah! That isn't the life for me! I just want to be ready when something happens to the herd!" That's Lester for you, always thinking about his family and their lifeline.

"...Then you better start acting serious!" Toll yelled at him quickly hitting him from his arms and legs, making the poor farmer feel the blows in full strength. A straight punch to the face, a knee on his stomach, a strike on his hand to disarm him and finally a kick on his knee to make him come down, his weapon over the kids throat. "Otherwise, you'll just die or be too scared to even do anything." His eyes were sharp as he looked at his friend with his shocked expression.

"Yo, chill. I popped a nerve, didn't I?" He didn't respond to him. "I'll take that as a yes... Sorry."

"No, I'm... I got carried away." He responded to him while feeling a bit guilty.

"Hey, it's okay. You've had it rougher than me, so I guess I overstepped there." He got back up and patted his clothes. "But damn it! That's the 32nd round and I still lost!" His frustration was visible for Toll, which he smirked to that.

"I've had months to practice with it, you'll get there sooner or later." He encouraged his friend before hearing something crashing on the back, seeing Elisa that fell down with a nearby bucket being stabbed by the blade of his scythe. He was not happy.

"Oh boy..." Lester prayed for whatever gods were watching them right now, so that Toll's anger might be mitigated.

"Ouch, that hurt..." Elisa groaned as she rubbed her back. She fell down from a chair while swinging his scythe to get a good feel out of it. When she looked up, she saw Toll towering over her, she nervously chuckle as she was expecting a scowling from him. "S-sorry... I got a little carried away there! But it's nothing serious, I promise! I can buy you a new bucket, no problem!" She tried to barter herself out of the situation.

He wanted to speak, but chose to stay quiet after heaving a frustrated sigh. He reached inside his pocket and grabbed his handkerchief before tying her forearm.

"It'll be bad if you keep bleeding, dumb girl." He responded to her as she had accidentally cut herself, she looked at the crimson color roll down her arm and then turning pale. In a few seconds she fainted from the sight of her own blood.

"And there's the girl that faints by the smallest drop of blood that we know and love." Lester chirped in as he saw Toll finishing tying the cloth.

"You should take her back home for today. I don't think that her folks like her to spend too much time with me." He told him as he grabbed her unconscious self and handed to him.

"Yeah... Figured as much. I'll see you when I can then!" He replied with a cheerful smile while carrying Elisa, his knees slightly buckled at the unusual weight that she has. "Damn Elisa! Did you gain weight?"

"I think you shouldn't say that to a girl. Plus, she didn't felt heavy to me." Toll responded as he opened the gate.

"Must be because of those muscles you gained from the dungeon! Seriously dude, you look more fit than my father and he's been working the farm harder than me!"

"That or you're out of shape." The burn was set.

"I'm not lazy! I'm just getting in the mood of things!" He huffed indignation to him. "I bet get to laze around here whenever you want!"

"Actually, I'm always busy. Tending the crops, cutting the grass, doing some small repairs on my home, doing some light exercise, practicing with my weapons and sometimes heading into the dungeon to get some Valis." He counted with his fingers what he does in a daily basis, each one making Lester's mood drop. "What do you do?" He asked curiously.

"N-never mind..." He responded defeated to him. "Same time tomorrow?"

"Same time tomorrow." Lester then nodded after he got affirmation from him and carried Elisa with him away. He waited for a few more minutes and he returned into his home.

Today was a slow day, after all. He didn't want to head into the dungeon and he already done all of his chores for the day, at least for now. It was so quiet...

He can rebuild a home, but you can't fill the emptiness that carries after. Just the passing wind from outside and the cold chill that comes from the night.

"I shouldn't think that... Maybe I should see that letter I got early in the morning." He talked to himself more often than he should when he was alone. Thinking out loud his actions, just to put things straight before acting them, of course this is just when nobody was around.

He opened the letter and was pleasantly surprised to see that it was his cousins.

"Hello cousin Toll!

How are things over there with auntie and uncle Crow? I bet you're having tons of fun over there!

Grandpa and Grandma are taking care of me right now, teaching me things and telling me tons of stories! Some are very weird, but fun to listen!

Grandpa told me not to visit you for a while, but when I get big and strong I'll be able to visit you and uncle and auntie all that I want! We'll have tons of fun like before!

Tell auntie and uncle Crow I said hi, okay?

Hugs and kisses!" The was a drawing of a white haired boy and a farmer next to him.

"Heh... I'll tell them, don't you worry." He responded with a sad tone and a painful expression. "I'm sure they'd love to hear this, cousin." He settled the letter down on top of the dining table. A nap would do wonders for him right now, a headache was starting to make it's way onto him.

Just for today, he took it easy and went to bed, just to see if it would pass a bit.

* * *

Toll's dream

Grassy fields as the eye could see, surrounded by mountains that could pierce the clouds and plots after plots of crops and animals being Shepard through them. Children around this place were rarely seen, mainly due to not many people choosing to come to such a place in the middle of nowhere.

This was their field, their world. It was isolated from dangers like monsters, guards or even adventurers, yet despite the lack of them, the people always felt safe in these lands that stretched far and wide.

"Hey! Toll!" A small child called for him, to which he waved as he was sat down, letting his tired cousin sleep on his lap. The other children wanted to play with him and so did he, but he was responsible for the child that was resting, so he kept back as he trailed his fingers through the boys white hair. The gestured was accepted with a kind smile with a cute humming sound coming from him.

Moments like these were short lived before he had to say goodbye to this wonderful place, parting away from his cousin. He saw how the little boy cried as he left for his home by a carriage. The crying boy started running trying to reach him, but his little legs couldn't get him far.

Toll took his head out and shouted.

"I'll write for you! Be nice and kind now!" He yelled from the top of his lungs as the boy got back on his feet and sniffled himself before nodding to him from a far.

Still the memories of that time lingered warmly for him. To him, that child was so pure, so innocent...

Everything was perfect there. Not many hardships nor hate between the kids or adults.

"Toll! Listen to me, listen okay? Get in here and don't come out, okay? Just don't come out not matter what!" His father was in a panic carrying him into a secret compartement under the wall.

"Father, what's going on?" He asked feeling frightened. Outside there were angry shouts calling out the Crow family. "Why are they mad?"

"They're here because of something, just stay hidden and don't say a word okay? Promise me that you won't!"

"But-!"

"No buts! Promise me!" He yelled back, the fear in his voice was palpable. He nodded before his father closed the hatch, making it invisible to the naked eye.

"Crow! I'm gonna count to 3! If you don't come and... then you won't like what I'm about to do!" Bits of his memory a bit faded, not quite getting what the adventurer said.

"Theodore! We can't!" His mother told his father, to which he grunted in frustration. There was some muffled noises before, Toll heard his mother scream.

"Mother!" Toll yelped with his hand ove rhis mouth to dull whatever sound came from him. Through the crack of the wall, he saw his father going through the wall of his room.

"You bastard!" He groaned as he got back up and punching the mans face, but it did nothing. "Somebody! Please! Help us!" He screamed as loud as he could inside of his home.

"Stupid farmer... Should've listened to the people that protects you! He he he!" He laughed as he stabbed him on the leg with a dagger, a weapon that bore straight into Toll's mind as he remembers vividly how it was decorated with gems and gold ornaments.. Theodore yelled in pain before getting kicked down. He tried to scamper away, only for him to be stabbed on the back again and again. This kept going even after he stopped moving completely.

"Already broken? Tch. No fun at all..." The person that had armor of an adventurer whined before standing up, he smirked at the art that he made on the floor. "Alright you bastards! Stop screwing the woman! Cut her throat and leave their bodies to rot! No one will ever know it was us!"

Now that he was in a better lighting, Toll could see how the mans armor, but the cloak that he had around him made it harder to memorize him.

And so he waited and waited and waited... Until morning came, the first rays shone onto his room as he finally left his hiding spot.

"Please... Oh powerful gods..." He prayed in his mind over and over as he got to his father, tears streaming down his couldn't do anything unless to sit tight and making sure that he wasn't making too much noise. He looked at how his father had the most painful expression he ever saw in his life. He touched his skin, how cold it was...

He yelled out, his feelings had reached a tipping point, crying as loud as he could. He lost his father that night. What he needed to look for was his mother that was on the other room.

"Please! Please! Please! Tell me you heard my prayers and you-" As soon as he entered the room, his memory failed him.

* * *

With an audible gasp, Toll woke up from his nightmare. He was sweating profusely and breathing erratically. He wasn't ready, as any other night, to remember what they did to her mother. Now now, not ever.

Looking outside, he saw that it was raining not that heavily, but the wind was starting to pick up the pace.

"I need to go cover the crops..." He got out of bed feeling groggy, going outside and getting a net inside the tool shed. It took a little while, but he was able to make sure his crops were safe for the night, if the winds keeps increasing the speed.

"This should do it. Let's just hope that they can hold on until tomorrow." He mumbled to himself as he rubbed his hands together, to try and generate some heat on them. Turning around towards his home, he saw a figure covered with a hooded cloak, slowly walking while wobbling a bit. "Odd... Who would go through this way dressed like that? A thief?" He thought to himself as he continued to watch the figure walk a little bit more, before collapsing. He would've left that person there and then at any time, but...

"Damn it... Layla's good will rubbed itself on me." He ran towards the figure and took the hood off, to see a young woman huffing to herself and having a red face. He put his hand on her forehead and it's as he thought.

"A fever." He said out loud. Nobody was out because of the rain, so there was only one thing left to do. He hoisted the woman, a bit hard since she was a bit heavier than Elisa, carrying her to the guest room for now.

Before laying her on the bed, he took off her wet cloak, her boots and her shirt. Leaving only her undershirt, before laying her down on the bed and covering her up with the sheets. He was busy taking care of her before, but now that he looked at her closely, there was something off of her.

He couldn't quite put it in words, but it was something familiar.

"Bah, stop thinking of that right now! Get a bucket of water and a piece of cloth." He mentally ordered himself while moving around his place, before remembering that Elisa had stabbed his bucket with his battle scythe.

"Damn, you Elisa..." He was sure to give her a long talk later, he had to improvise at the moment. Going towards the kitchen, he grabbed a large kettle, where he stored some fruit, cleaned the inside of it with a small rag before filling it with water.

"Alright... 1, 2!" He heaved the object and carried towards the guest room, settling it down next to the bed. "Damn that's heavy..."

The young woman was still huffing while sometimes moving around. Maybe the fever is getting worse.

He dipped a piece of cloth and squeezed the excess water, before setting it on her forehead. She stammered as the cold cloth made contact with her skin, yet she showed just a pint of relaxing. She slightly open her eyes, looking at him with a strained look.

"Don't force yourself right now. Take a rest for now." He advised her, but she moved her mouth to say something. He put his ear close to listen closely.

"Wa...ter..." Her voice was weak and barely audible, but the message got through. He nodded his head before heading back to the kitchen, getting a glass of water and returning for her.

"Slowly and easy now." He told her as he lifted her head, for her to drink. She sipped slowly until the very last drop was gone. He set her head back down before putting the glass cup on the nightstand.

"Thank... You..." She appreciated his help before closing her eyes to rest for the night. He left her alone to rest it up.

Heading towards the kitchen again, he sat down on a chair and laid his hands on his eyes.

"I don't think I can sleep for tonight... Not after that nightmare." He thought to himself, even though he looked tired to begin with. Looking to his right, he saw the bookcase that he bought, able to store at least 30 books depending on their size and thickness. It came with three books already, all three the first volume of different series of stories. "Reading books seems like a good idea to pass the time."

He grabbed one of them with the title of "The tale of the black dragon". It depicts a fantasy story on how the one-eyed onyx dragon came into the labyrinth, how the many struggles formed the mighty beast and how even it held sentience. Of course, this was simply a story that cultists that respect and bow to the dragon came up with, after the fall of Zeus' familia.

He lit up a candle and started to read the book for a few hours. He made small breaks while making sure that the rag was damp on the young woman, before resuming again on reading.

* * *

At one point, when he decided to stop reading, he glanced at the window only to see that morning came in a instant. He closed the book, having already read most of his content and returned it back in it's resting place.

"That gave more questions than answers and questionable methods. How can a dragon become more powerful by eating other monsters? And how can it become smarter the more he interacted with others? Doesn't make a whole lot of sense." He commented to himself before going to see his guest once more.

As he opened the door, he could hear clearly that she wasn't huffing anymore, but sleeping soundly. He checked her forehead and was glad to see that the fever had gone down.

Taking the damp cloth, he set it aside next to the large kettle and silently went away, letting the young woman to sleep the rest of the morning. Checking outside, he saw that the rain had ceased and that the wind calmed down, but now his entrance had been the playground of nature, having leaves and other things sprawled around the place.

"This is gonna take a while." He thought to himself while feeling a little tired. He went into his tool shed and grabbed a rake which had seen many uses. Using it, Toll started to make small piles around the place, to then converge them into a bigger pile. Working in a trance, he didn't even heard Lester call him.

"Again with this... HEY!" He shouted, catching his attention.

"Ah, sorry Lester. I was too busy cleaning up this mess. What are you doing here even? Shouldn't you be doing this too?" Toll asked confused.

"I wanted to, but my father said he'd take care of it. I was heading towards the herd, but then what do I see when it's so early in the morning? My friend busting his ass with chores... and having black eyes. Didn't you sleep last night?" It was his turn to ask.

"I couldn't. I was too busy with other stuff." Half of the truth, but it was so he wouldn't worry him.

"Ah, you're talking about the wind at night right? Yeah, dad was worried too and put a net around his crops, just like you. Good call, a couple of farms ahead did the same, except for the Roswell's, they lost about a quarter of their crops." He informed him while not feeling that much pity for them.

"You don't sound so mournful." He commented on it.

"Hell yeah I don't! Those bastards didn't do a fickle when we were in a bind with taxes!" He huffed with indignation.

"Hmm..." He didn't respond, only because he didn't want to voice out his own pleas, but that would only worry him and that kind of attention was not welcome. "How was Elisa?"

"She's back home. Her parents gave me such an earful... I thought that they were giving me the evil eye even in my sleep!" He replied with some gestures of despair.

"Only you? They didn't ground her to come here or even badmouth me?" He asked curious on that part.

"Ah, that... let's not go there. They were really peeved if you catch my meaning. Just uttering your name makes them grow silent, I think they were silently angry at you and since I was there they didn't want me to spill the beans." He informed while scratching his ear.

"I can see that happening." Toll responded seeing his point. "I'm mostly done here. Do you want to come inside and eat something? I bet you haven't ate anything since waking up."

"Now there's an offer that I can't say no! Lead the way, Toll!" He replied happily while grinning. "A man can't work with an empty belly!"

"Heh, that's what Boris used to tell me." He chuckled as they entered the kitchen. "Sit down for a moment, I'll have your share done in a bit." He advised while setting a small pan down and turning the magic stone on to spark a flame into action. He dropped a slice of butter on the pan and went to grab two eggs and some meat from the pantry. As he returned, he stirred the melting butter around the pan, almost skiing on it.

Once melted and spread all around the pan, he cracked open the two eggs and let them stay by as he marinated the meat with some salt and a little bit of wine, letting it soak a bit to add extra flavor.

He brought out a spatula and a small plate, putting the two eggs there before putting the finely cut, marinated meat onto the frying pan. The sound of the meat sizzling and the scent emanating from it was making Lester drool a bit.

Toll then separated the eggs onto different plates, letting them rest for a moment then putting his attention on the meat. Without him noticing, the young woman from before was at the hallway following the smell of food. She accidentally kicked a piece of furniture, making Lester do a complete spin in his seat to look at her.

"Toll? Who is she?" He asked with his eyes still glued on her. Toll gave a glance at her over his shoulder and then continued to put his attention to their breakfast.

"You're awake. Sit down, breakfast will be done soon." He informed her while grabbing another plate and some bread.

"Oh! Uh... Okay..." She replied weakly before sitting down on the opposite end of Lester. Now that she was sitting down, she put a hand over her left eye rubbed it, sleep was still on her system.

Lester took in how she looked. She was around 5 foot tall, with long light brown, curly hair that reached just after her shoulders, tied up her back hair in a ponytail, while letting the rest freely flow at the front. She wore a headband made of gold to accentuate the beauty of her hair.

Her arms had golden wristbands that coiled around her wrists, her sandals had also a golden color to it, but it might've been because of the leather being dyed. Her dress white, decorated with gold colored engravings that ran through her sides, stretched until her knees. She also wore in tandem with a small golden rope going around her waist and a piece of cloth that wrapped around her shoulders, hiding away her most prominent feminine features.

But the thing that distinguished her the most was her gray colored eyes. They were unusual, to say the least, not many would have those type of eyes.

"Here, breakfast is done. Eat up the both of you." He derailed Lester's focused attention onto his plate. Fried egg with fried meat, a bun of bread to his side and a glass of water. The woman in front of him also received the portion, but he didn't sat down.

"You ain't gonna eat, Toll?" He asked curious.

"I'm still making mine." He showed him the cut bread being heated up on the pan with the butter beside him. "I would hurry if I were you Lester, your father will know if you're slacking off." He warned him as alarms finally kicked in on him.

"Oh crap, you're right!" He started to chow down on his meal, while making sure that he doesn't choke.

"T-thank you..." The young woman spoke to him, not catching his name.

"Toll." He answered her, to which she nodded.

"Were you the one that found me?" She asked before taking a small fork of meat into her mouth.

"It was by chance when I was putting the net on my crops. I noticed you wobbling and then simply collapsed on the ground. I brought you in and put a close eye on your fever." He explained before flipping the bread in the pan, to equally heat both sides.

"Not only you took me in, but also treated my ill state? How kind of you!" She replied with her spirits up.

"Where did you come from? You don't look like you're from Oratoria." Lester asked curious about the woman.

"I'm from the kingdom of Rakia. I left it due to me not being needed and that the god Ares controls the most powerful Familia, so my services there wouldn't be too looked upon. I tried my luck coming to Oratoria, but along the way my resources ended abruptly a few days ago..." She responded while feeling embarrassed of her slight miscalculation.

"Hoo~" Lester sounded impressed that she survived the journey. "I'm sorry, but we never got your name."

"Oh, that's true! My name is Athena, a pleasure to meet the both of you. I am a goddess." She introduced herself while standing up, giving them a courtly bow.

"Is that so?" Toll's tone became slightly aggravating. "If that's the case, then-" Lester immediately covered his friends mouth.

"Excuse us for a second!" He then turned their backs against her while whispering to him. "Dude! You have a goddess right here! Now's your best chance to become a part of a Familia, don't just throw it away like that!"

"I'm not ready, Lester! Do you think that I want to simply go around and catch the chance without even knowing WHY she came here in the first place? I don't trust her and I certainly don't want her in my house." He replied to him in a serious manner, while trying to keep his cool.

"Then give her a chance! If you don't trust her or anything, then how about you let her stay a week or two here? She doesn't seem to carry anything of value with her. Let her know that she's welcome to stay, but she needs to work if she wants to be fed. It's better than if she goes to Oratoria only to be given the short end of the boot!"

"I don't like that plan at all, Lester."

"Come on, it wouldn't be any harm to just let her know right? Plus, you got the space to afford. Must be lonely here, all by yourself."

"You'll just keep pestering me until I agree, won't you?" He looked at his grin and deadpanned. "Fine! Fine. But one thing, one small insignificant thing and she's out. No why nor buts. You hear me?"

"Crystal clear!" He replied to him with a victory grin. Toll then turned off the magic stone and carefully put his toasted bread onto the plate before buttering them up.

"Here's what were gonna do, Athena. You can stay here, but you have to work if you wanna be fed. I'll be honest, I don't like you gods, but my friend over her would simple give me an earful if I don't at least give you a chance. You don't like it? Go to Oratoria, see if can find your luck there. You hear me?" He asked while taking a bite from his buttered toast.

"My word! You don't need to talk to me in such a rude way!" She flinched back at his sudden tone. His hatred seems to come from someways. "I heard you, Toll, but please try to sound a little nicer to me! We just met after all." She looked a little hurt from his way of speaking.

He simply clicked his tongue, not responding to her. He would at least try to be neutral, he did have that promise with Rose after all, even though it was directed solely to Loki. Yet it seemed that she also meant to other gods, probably so that no misunderstanding came between Familias and then target him out of their deep faith in their gods or for mistaking his actions against them.

As soon as Lester went away to tend the herd, Toll immediately ordered Athena to grab a rake from the tool shed and start helping with the debris outside, in a less rude manner, even though it still looked rude.

His hate for the gods was grand indeed, but that didn't mean have a speck of kindness in his being. He followed with Lester's idea and let her prove herself that she'd be willing to at least do some labor, where gods shouldn't.

The first three weeks were, for a lack of better words, mediocre. Athena made a few mistakes, but they were rookie ones, something that he himself made when he started to take care of the farm on his own. He was lenient, but stern when she made a mistake, imitating his father when he made a mistake as well.

But at the end, he took care of the heavy load when he could and let the goddess deal with the less taxing when anything else was done. During that time, it was difficult for even Athena to make Toll speak a single word apart from work.

Then the next week came and he was suddenly gone, leaving behind on the table that he'd come back later, most likely to Oratoria for some 'business'. This left the goddess to think on what she'd do. The house that she'd be staying didn't had anything to pass the time, for she read all the books that he had, which were three to begin with.

"Maybe I should go into town, I haven't gone there yet." Since there was nothing to do, she did just that. Athena left his abode and headed towards the town, but then there was a problem. "Which way was it again?"

Luckily, Lester and Elisa, which were regulars to Toll's home, were passing by to do their chores.

"Mornin', Athena! Toll not home today?" Lester asked not seeing his friend around.

"He put a note saying that he'd be late today. At least he gave a heads up, but I have nothing to do, so I thought about going into town, however I don't know my way around." She responded a little disappointed.

"Late today? Oooh! I know what he went to do! Yeah, he'll only come around the evening. But we can show you around town if you want." He spoke up to her, making her thankful for him.

"Wrong! You've got chores to do while I'm heading to meet with my blacksmith friend, you need to go tend the herd while I take her with me." Elisa chirped in making him take a step back.

"I know, I know! You don't need to remind me, I already have my father for that." He responded back while a bead of sweat rolled down his cheek.

"I don't know, I think you need a friendly reminder nowadays, since the amount of times that Toll hits your head with that wooden sword of his." In a sense, she was calling him stupid by the many times that he was hit.

"Hey! I resent that!" He sounded hurt, but that was just drama to make it funny, which was not unnoticed as Athena chuckled at the theater that he was putting.

"Don't laugh at his foolishness, you might get it. Come on! We have a city to visit!" Elisa then pulled Athena's arm to follow her.

"Have fun you two! I know I won't." He talked to himself, alone.

* * *

Oratoria - Before lunch

"Wow! This place is huge!" Athena gawked at how much different it was from the kingdom of Rakia. Instead of a military might around, it was more of a merchants hub that went around thanks to the fields outside and the dungeon itself and it's resources.

"It's your first time in town, right? There's a lot of stuff you gotta learn, and who's better at that job than yours truly!" She pointed towards herself with confidence, being in town many times from a younger age helped.

"I'll be on your care, then!" She replied cheerfully as they went from place to place, just so that Athena could some knowledge of the layout and about the bad places to go, for example the back alley of the merchants district, that was common knowing around the shop keepers that avoided it like the plague.

The merchants district was long, but she sorta got the gist of it, although she needed more time to memorize the place, not to mention that there were so many more districts around the city of Oratoria that it'd take a few weeks just to get her bearings.

"I'm feeling a little hungry from all this walking, want to grab something?" Elisa asked towards her friend that was starting to feel the hunger as well.

"I'd very much like to, but what about your friend, the blacksmith?" She asked as she didn't want to put an inconvenience on her.

"Don't worry about that! She always works after eating a good lunch, so I have time to kill." Elisa replied as they walked next to a stand selling dumplings. "Oh these are so tasty! Here, let me buy you one, you won't regret eating one of these!"

"Oh my! They smell divine! I'll take your offer with grace!" She replied feeling her stomach giving in to the dish.

"Four dumplings, please!" Elisa ordered from the merchant and he nodded his head to her, taking the dumplings and putting them on two separate paper plates and handing them.

"That'll be 340 Valis, please!" He informed Elisa.

"Here you go! Thank you, friend!" She happily replied while handing him his compensation. They bid farewell for the merchant and found a nice place to sit down.

Carefully with a napkin that was given by him, they took the first bite and were delighted by the flavor of meat hiding inside, though they had to mouth at the air because it was still pretty hot.

"Swo goood~!" Elisa looked like she was crying from the flavor, but it was because her mouth felt like an oven.

"I agree! I can't believe that this treat isn't in Rakia, it would've been quite popular there!" She commented quite happily for her meal.

"Don't get that guy those ideas, I might lose my only dealer for dumplings!" She feigned her fear before they laughed at each other and taking another bite from their meal. "How are things going with Toll? Is he still being hard on you?"

"Unfortunately... He truly doesn't like me, to the point on making me work so hard, despite me being a goddess! He's not a person that I enjoyed meeting since I arrived." She told Elisa on how she felt.

"...He's not a bad person. He's just... not the same as he was before." She replied, unsure on how to word it for the goddess.

"Oh? You know what made him into that god hating person? Do enlighten me." She asked half interested on how he became.

"I shouldn't say it, he should be the one saying it, but let me tell you that, despite hating the gods he was able to lend you a hand. So if he's being less considerable with his words, try to understand how hard it was for him to get things back to the way it was before." She responded to her with a sad tone at the end. Athena thought to herself what Elisa could be trying to say before the next question came to her, a stupid one but one that she wanted to know from someone else.

"Those graves next to the tree. Are they his parents?" Elisa slowly nodded her head to give her confirmation. "Then how was he able to get things back? Did something happen to his home?"

"Me and Lester asked our parents, but they didn't want to tell us! And Toll doesn't feel too comfortable to tell us about it, even Lester gets it rougher for even saying something out of line, only for Toll to apologize later. I don't know what he went through, or even Lester, but he was just as carefree as him. Whatever happened, it changed him so much...

I could barely recognize him after a single year has passed. He looked really mature, but at the same time so sad." Her tone held pity for her friend, but he'd probably deny any of it. He didn't accepted a shoulder to cry anymore, he grew out of it.

"Hmm... I'll consider what you spoke of. It daunts me that he has such good friends with him, yet he treats you with a grain of salt." She answered to her, but she shook her head.

"We were good friends before, now... It feels like we're rebuilding something again. My father and mother say that maybe he wants to reconnect with us, but it's being very difficult for him. I can't imagine how hurt he is right now, but I can only hope that if I wait just a little longer... just a little more... he can talk to us, tell us what happened, make his weighted shoulders just little lighter, even if it's not that much." She spoke from the heart, making Athena think for herself, for the moment, she could only think of the compassion that Elisa was delivering for that boy.

"You're truly a good friend, Elisa." She responded with a kind smile to the youth next to her. "How about we finish our meal and then we go our separate ways? You need to help your blacksmith friend and I have to make sure that the crops are fine or I lose a place to sleep!"

"You could stay in a inn if you want, but you'd need to pay up front to stay there for a few days. Actually, do you even have Valis Athena?" She asked to which the woman looked at her with shame.

"I lost my Valis on my way to Oratoria... I think I bumped into someone and lost my pouch." She responded with a sad tone, Elisa simple patted the goddess' head with pity for her. "So unfortunately, I have to keep working under Toll. I just wish he'd be kinder to me, it's been a few weeks, that should've proven to him that I'm not that bad!"

"Hang in there." Elisa responded while binding farewell to Athena and going to meet her friend.

Athena COULD explore more of the town if she wanted to, but being new to a foreign place is a truly disadvantage, unless she was feeling brave and hope that she wouldn't be mugged on the first day. No, she wasn't going to waste her time being lost in the city, so she decided to head back to the farm, at least she would be able to have some time for herself doing whatever she wanted until Toll came back from his business.

It didn't take long for Athena to find something to distract herself, opting to read the books again just because the farm didn't had any chores to do, letting the time pass until the sun started to set.

"He's taking his sweet time..." She thought to herself before the door is suddenly opened with force. She quickly looked to see Toll in a suit of tattered body armor, the sword she would sometimes see inside his room sheathed on his right hip and his prized scythe falling to his side. "Toll! What happened!?" She tried to rush to him, but he glared at her, it was enough to tell her to back off.

"What do you think happened? I went to the dungeon." He replied coldly to her, before hissing and looking at his left side that was making pressure on his wound. "Keep doing whatever you're doing. I'm gonna rest up." He moved with his right arm against the wall while panting, he was terribly tired and as he was passing by her, she saw a few droplets of blood from where he came. With a closer look, it seems he walked all the way from the tower of Babel until here wounded.

"You're hurt!" She exclaimed to him, but he didn't listen and continue, that was till she went under his right arm and started to support his weight.

"Hey, let go of me! I'm fine!" He wanted to push her, but he was in no shape to do so.

"No! You aren't! You're going to let me help you, even if you don't like it! Look, your knees are shaking! You can barely keep yourself standing! Let me help you!" She pleaded to him, to just give her the opportunity to help him in his our of need.

"No one was there when I wanted, so why the hell should I let you help me now?" He asked coldly to her, to which she looked at him with a determined expression.

"Because what counts is now! Let me help you, just this one time! Please!" She returned the question, he looked at her and clicked his tongue.

"You know where my room is. Take me there." To this she nodded her head and helped him reach his room. Inside it was mostly the same as before the attack occurred, a wardrobe, a table, a bed and a window that could look at the crops.

She laid him as gently as she could on top of his bed, he grunted as he sat down.

"Bandages and disinfectant. Third cabinet from the right in the bathroom." He ordered as he carefully started to take off his armor to take a look on how much damage he got from that surprise from that goblin.

"Third cabinet from the right, got it!" She rushed out and came back as fast as she was gone, with the bandages in hand, not to mention with a disinfectant in hand. Putting the medical supplies on top of the table, she went to help him take off his armor. She was surprised to see him with some bandages around his body, some older than others.

He let go of his wound on his abdomen to see a clean cut that wasn't too deep.

"Jackass..." He took a deep breath before looking at her. "Dowse a piece of cloth with the disinfectant and give it to me." She hurriedly did as he said before he clenched his teeth and cleaned the wound, just in case.

"I have so many questions... How did this happen? Why were you in the dungeon in the first place? Aren't you a farmer?" Athena couldn't comprehend.

"Look around you!" His sudden outburst was from the burning sensation that he could feel. "Everything around here was rebuilt from the money that I got from the dungeon! It took me months, but this is the best I can do, when I'm just a civilian. A stupid farmer!" He grunted as he was done cleaning it. "Bandages..." He had his hand up and promptly got what he wanted.

"You mean to tell me, that you've been going to the dungeon, a place where only adventurers and fighters can survive, in order to rebuild this place? Have you no consideration for your health!? Or even your friends!" She thought to herself, wanting to berate with him, but she then saw him huff a bit before tightening the bandage.

"I'm done... You can leave now..." He said weakly to her, wanting to sleep the pain and tiredness off.

"No..." She responded, making him look at her. "No, I'm not going to leave. Not until you tell me why is a farmer, a civilian like yourself going into the dungeon, gambling your life away towards that place!"

"Do you think I had a choice in the matter!?" He suddenly yelled at her angrily. "I was six feet deep here! Bills were pilling up, food was barely livable here, the soil was nearly ruined, the house could be considered destroyed for all to see and I had two dead bodies to bury! Do you think a farmers job can pay the bills on a place where life was stripped? I had to do something and there was no one out there that could help me, not even the fucking neighbors had the gal to come and check if anybody was alive!

I needed to do what I could to survive! If I go to the dungeon is so that I can at least bring some coin for daily needs and magic stones, I've learned from months now how to fight the monsters until the third floor. MONTHS that took to rebuild this place, MONTHS that took me to reach where I am today and it took YEARS for the neighbors to finally check whoever was making that noise that meant repairs!

So if you think that I had a choice, do you think I wouldn't have taken another route?" He asked with a glare to her.

"But, why didn't you simply leave the house and ask for help?" She asked, pointing something out. He could've, but he didn't. He looked down at the floor with sorrow written in his face.

"...Do you know what it feels like, to see your father killed in front of you and then see that your mother was used in such a way before seeing her throat sliced and her teared stained face? I shut down... I couldn't leave the home... I couldn't leave the one place that I thought I was safe... I kept myself hidden and silently mourned my loss all that time. I even had the thought to simply end it and see my parents again... To be with them again...

But then, I remembered my cousin. How sad would he be if he knew that the guy that he liked so much killed himself next to his parents. So I fought against those thoughts and won. You wanted a reason, there you go." He responded to her, to which she was surprised to say the least.

No, surprised would be too far fetched. She was astounded that he was able to endure what faith had brought him and clung onto the one thing that would miss him the most. He not only took the step forward, but improved himself in a way, but at the cost of his innocence. It cost him that much and not receive a reward for all of his arduous feat, a silent punishment was all that he received.

"He suffered that much that he renounced even us gods. What a sad child you are, Toll." She thought to herself as she felt sympathy for his misfortune. "How did you get that wound?"

"An adventurer dropped his dagger a few ways away from the first floor and a goblin snagged it. First time I saw one using it, so it took me by surprise. I should've been more careful. Stupid on my part." He replied back tiredly to her.

"But you're a civilian, you won't survive for much longer if you keep going back with that body of yours. It has reached it's limit, hasn't it?" He slowly blinked to her question before he looked at the ceiling with a sigh.

"Couldn't even beat a 7 year old, level 1 adventurer... Yeah, I reached my limit that day... I'm not an adventurer, not without the Falna that you gods bestow to your Familia. I'm just going to continue to be the civilian that walks down a hard road of survival. There's nothing else I can do, after all." He replied back while sitting back up. "There, I answered your question. Now leave my room, I'm tired and I'd like to sleep." He signaled her to shoo away, but she thought to herself and stood up in front of him.

"What? Got something else to say?" He asked indifferent to her.

"Join my Familia." The words echoed in his mind as he slowly looked at her with a look that said 'are you serious?'

"No. I'm not going to be a gods child, since they didn't do anything to me. Not to mention, I hate your kind, enough for me to be considered a heretic. I think you're making a poor choice here."

"I'm not. Toll Crow, you have showed me how much you've trended upon this earth and how you were able to pass raging waves. You show growth were few tend to be blind, you show change where most would simply follow the path they were in the beginning. I'm not asking you to be my child, I'm asking in the hope of us becoming friends.

You aided me in my time of need, even though you knew nothing of this stranger, showing that you still hold kindness in your heart. Your friends are worried about you, but they are giving you time to heal from your wounds, they want to help you as I want to help you.

Please, join my Familia. In the hopes that you can grow stronger and live another day." She asked with grace and extending a hand to him.

He looked at it for a minute, thinking for himself what to do. Then his hand slowly reached out, so slowly that it made the goddess' feelings to start bubbling up. He was close, but then hesitated. He thought a little more before grabbing her hand.

"I won't bow for you, you hear me?" He didn't look at her face as he said that. She grasped his hand and said in a soft tone.

"That's okay... You don't need to."


	6. Little kindness

Disclosure: This chapter hasn't been proof read yet, if you find any mistakes they'll be taken care of later on as soon as possible. In the mean time, enjoy the chapter.

* * *

Dungeon - floor 3

"Gyaa!" The goblins rush in to attack Toll, who rolls out of their way and blocks the kobolds weapon with his battle scythes snath. They struggle a bit before the humanoid dog started bashing his club violently, sometimes hitting the young ones hands. He simply gritted his teeth through the pain and how numb they were beginning to feel.

The goblins took this opportunity and latched on his legs, using their fangs to bite down on his armor and flesh, relentlessly trying to kill their enemy. With a battle cry, Toll cut off a large portion of the kobolds legs and then hitting him on the snout with back end of the weapon.

Then, he grabbed his sword with his left arm and bashed the goblins away from his legs before cutting one of their arms and then kicking them away. They growled at him threateningly while the kobold stood up, using his club as support with his right leg bleeding profusely.

On his back, he could hear another squad of monsters coming, with two lizards by the sound of it. He clicked his tongue as he was in an unfair situation, before he ran forward and stabbed his sword straight through the kobolds chest, releasing a small stream of blood from it's back before dissipating into black fumes. The goblins tried to attack again, but one died from getting their neck cut and the other was knocked out unconscious.

The remaining goblin tried to snatch another grab with his fangs, but then Toll let go of his battle scythe and lead the momentum towards the wall, before stabbing his sword mercilessly through his nape and passing through his mouth.

He didn't waste any time gathering the magic stones before running away. Another squad when he had dealt with two squads at the same time? That was pushing his luck, especially when they had two lizards with them.

Time is what he needed to, just to catch his breath and recuperate. He looked at his legs and saw that his right leg was bleeding a few droplets of blood.

"Damn it..." He cursed under his breath as he turned the corner and scouted to see if anyone or any monster was nearby. Seeing that it was safe, he rolled up his pants and saw that the goblins left a few scratches on him. Grabbing the disinfectant on his satchel, he took his handkerchief and dowsed it before making a temporarily bandage around his leg, securing it so that it wouldn't come loose.

"Alright. Patched up and I've got my breath again. Let's go for 22 for today." He mentally set his goal and grabbed his battle scythe, marching forward to find another squad of 3 to make it the 18th of the day.

As he was skulking around the corridors, being mindful of making too much sound, he ran into another squad of 3, only he noticed that a lizard was on top of them silently following them.

"Is that a new tactic of them? I wasn't really sure if they had the head to think of that, or maybe this is something that they have thought to counter adventurers." He thought to himself before the lizard pounced towards the squad, but missing two of them, only getting the goblin on the back.

The two kobolds looked behind growled and barked their anger before relentlessly bashing the poor lizards eyes with their clubs. Toll just stood there observing thinking and waiting for the right moment. As the lizard was almost dead it sparked to life and grabbed on them with his mouth trying to crush him in the process, that's the opportunity that the young farmer was looking for.

He bolted towards the unrestrained kobold quickly and used the blade of the battle scythe to pierce his back to it's chest, but only the tip was showing from the other side, which means that Toll didn't had enough strength to kill it in one go. Grabbing his sword with his left hand, he violently slashed the limbs of the kobold that was trying desperately to remove the scythe and defending his attacks.

Until one of the slashes was etched in a defined muscle of the humanoid, at the right side of the abdomen, making the enemy screech in pain, alerting the other squads about what is happening.

In a hurry, Toll pulled his sword back and did a small twirl before cutting his enemies throat, making his vocal cords, or lack of them, become silent. But then a second screech came from the other kobold from the lizard that was slowly crushing it's body to then eat it.

kicking the kobold that would die from blood loss, he rushed towards the lizard and put his entire weight on the sword to partially decapitate the head of the kobold, just dangling from the uncut nape of it's body. The two bodies dissipate into fumes, with the lizard having a staring contest with Toll, it took a few seconds to decide and pounce at him, but he knew that it was coming as he slid below the lizard, cutting him in the process from it's exposed neck and belly.

"Preying on others, guess I'm not entirely sure about the dungeon after all." He sheathed his sword and held his battle scythe, looking back at the lizard that was trying to gasp for air on it's side. "Three more to go for today." He said as he finished the lizard with that three swings. He grabbed the magic stones left behind and continued to explore the 3rd floor that he was so familiar with, since he still only accessed the first 3 floors.

He actively hunts the squads that he was so familiar with, hiding in the shadows to not alert their attention, binding his time when the monsters have a feud with each other and then attacking them without them noticing the first swing or slash from him. Afterwards, panic and intimidation play a huge fact when fighting them, usually making them screech from their hunter out of instinct after a few minutes of fighting.

It mattered little for Toll if they started to screech, because if he noticed that a bigger squad were to come, he'd simply run after disposing his current target and recuperate himself with a small respite.

"Can't believe that it's already passed three weeks since I accepted Athena's proposal. Six months, trying my best to survive... Makes a person think a bit on how hard it was those first months, heck the first week was exhausting! All this time, I've been struggling and struggling... I nearly killed myself time after time after time.

Honestly, I never thought I would take the offer, but..." His left arm trembled a bit at the excessive strain. "I just couldn't keep going anymore. That day when that careless adventurer dropped his dagger and that goblin grabbed it, it was a sure sign that I couldn't keep up anymore. That wound was just the slightest graze, but it cut so easily.

I want to see, how three weeks of training in the dungeon can increase my stats that all started at 20 except magic. But in order to see it, I need to find those last monsters." Just as he said that, he heard a monster screeching from afar, on the hallway from his right, the light blue color of the walls always gave newcomers some uneasiness, despite being depicted as one that would calm them.

He did not hesitated and ran towards the sound, but at his pace, before leaning on the wall and peaking at the corner to see two kobolds wielding clubs and one goblin that was riding on top of a lizard, probably to try and threaten people that he could control the lizard, which he couldn't since it was merely a tactic.

In front of them was a shaking Hume Bunny that could barely hold his dagger in place, trembling with fear and panic. From his dirty clothes, he was most likely starting, reaching the third floor. Either he's lucky or unlucky.

"Just watch for now." He thought to himself as he looked at the guy with a closer look, taking in his features while at the same time looking out for the enemies.

The Hume Bunny had a light brown shirt with matching pants, though both looked a bit tattered, maybe being used for a long time. He also used some light armor, mainly a leather vest, leather boots and gloves. The three of them looked quite battered, nothing that a start up should use, just by looking at them it looked like their worn out look had diminished their value and effectiveness.

With long ears standing up and his messy blond hair it looked like he had quite the trouble to get here, not to mention that his green eyes are sure tell that he's panicking.

The kobolds make their move first and try to attack the demi human, but his speed is better due to his natural trait dodging it, though it was by a the thread of his hair to dodge it.

They didn't stop attacking him, as he ran around trying to find a way to escape or a vital spot where he could attack. Every time he tried he was immediately countered, making him click his tongue in frustration as he kept running around in circles around the lizard, making it confused on where he should start attacking.

The goblin then jumped into the air and landed on the guys back, viciously trying to chomp at a good spot with his fangs. The Hume Bunny lashed out, grabbing the goblin by the neck and throwing him to the side, distracted long enough for one of the kobolds to swing at full force at him directly at the lizard with its head twitching and mouth slightly open for a new meal.

But Toll already sprung into action as he saw the humanoid dog getting close to the new adventurer and interjected between the monsters and them. The adventurer looked at him surprised to see another adventurer still in the dungeon at this hour.

"Don't just go around and be distracted!" He berated the guy that he just saved and looked at the monsters screeching at him angrily. "I'll take the lizard out, finish those three bastards yourself." He didn't even gave the person time to process what just happened as he bolted straight to his target.

"Wait, kid! They're too powerful for us!" He yelled in an attempt stop in his tracks as he saw the kobolds rushing towards Toll. They swung, but facing them for so long made his body memorize the blows that he suffered from before, dodging them almost like the wind.

The goblin tried to latch his fangs again against the new target, but in return he got hit by the back end of his battle scythe and then kicked it straight at the lizard, eating the monster greedily.

"Wow..." The Hume Bunny was surprised on how the kid just did that. Before he stood up, with his dagger up, he still shook, but the prospect of having someone taking half the load was enough to give him enough will to fight. "Can't let him make me look bad!" He raced forward dodging the first attack and barely parrying the second swing, giving two light cuts on the kobolds feet.

"Don't aim for their feet! Aim for their arms! Without them, they can only try to bite you!" Toll yelled at him as he was repeatedly stabbing the lizards back with his short sword.

"Got it!" He took the advice and started to chip away their arms quickly, before taking a heavy swing from the back and then again on his chest making him recoil as he was thrown a few feet away. "Huh?" This time, the damage was mitigated, enough that it wasn't hurting as badly as before. "It actually worked! That was a light swing!"

"Don't just celebrate with that! They're coming to you again! Dodge or guard yourself! Keep chipping them before stabbing them in the throat!" He instructed as he finished the lizard with a final stab through the skull, making it evaporate into black smoke.

The adventurer moved once more, taking quick swings and then dodging out of the way what looked like small grazes. Soon, the monsters arms were rendered useless and they started to use their mouths to try and catch him.

But he timed his dodges better and slashed their throats, making their screeches cease. They stumble backwards and fall on their knees, trying to growl at the intruder.

"Now finish them. Take that dagger and stab them through the chest, that's where their magic stones are." Toll walked calmly as he put his magic stones in his satchel. The Hume Bunny gripped the handle of the dagger and dug onto the beasts chests with vigor and ended their lives.

The adventurer yelled in joy for finishing the monsters before laughing nervously.

"God damn! That was something!" He looked at Toll with relief in his face. "I thought that I would die there for a moment!"

"And you would." Toll in a nonchalant way. "But dying against these monsters would've left a bad taste in both our mouths." He grabbed one of his magic stones and put it into his satchel that was filled. "I'll be taking this one for aiding you." He then started to leave.

"Wait up, kid! How the hell did you get so good at fighting these guys? I can barely believe that you fought against them without a hint of fear!"

"Time. It took time and effort. Something that you don't have, since you were shaking in your boots against those four. I'm guessing this is your first time here." He pointed out as the Bunny scratched his head.

"Y-yeah... I got unlucky not to meet monsters on the upper floors, so I came down lower. Big mistake on my part... How long have you been an adventurer, kid?"

"I'm not oblige to tell you." He looked at the hallways and didn't heard any footsteps or the usual monster sound, so they were relatively safe for now. He then looked at the adventurer and started to point a few things for him.

"Get better armor. Get a good feel for the monsters up above, in case you're overrun by them then you're a quick way out then get a better weapon. Follow these steps and you'll be able to tackle the monsters a little easier." He said what he wanted and started to leave.

"W-wait a minute there, kid! At least tell me how to deal with the lizards! They freak me out the most!"

"Figure it out yourself. You're an adventurer, aren't you? First hand experience is what shapes us to be stronger and smarter." He left while tying his satchel tightly and settling it on his pocket with a string attached inside.

"You're mean, kid!" He responded feeling saddened that his rescue wasn't willing to share his knowledge, even if he was younger than him.

Leaving the dungeon, he saw once more the sunset closing on the horizon, meaning that evening came and the end of a day had come once again.

"Hmm... The days are becoming longer. Maybe the new season came? Need to look up what vegetables grow well in it." He thought to himself as he made his way back to the guild.

As usual, his walk was met with stares from some people, at least the amount decreased a lot, maybe because some got used to a farmer going inside the dungeon for money making. That however didn't meant that he wasn't judged multiple times, some complaining on how weak he was or how foolish he looked. Yet as much as a ritual, he ignored them all the same.

But what caught the most attention to him was his battle scythe, unusual it was yet unreliable to fighting to many, but to him it felt great in his hands, the tool that he used the most and now a weapon that he could utilize it to some great extent.

Up ahead, he saw the guild, or Pantheon if you wanted to go the extra mile but most simply refer to it as the guild for adventurers. Entering it, it was busy as usual with various kinds of people that range from warrior to brawler, nothing new there. He grabbed a ticket and waited for his turn to talk to Rose, she had a respectable line of people to advise and most likely to do some light chat.

Ten, twenty, half an hour passes and finally it's his turn to talk to her.

"Busy with work again, aren't you?" He asked her, as she looked at him a bit tired, yet her eyes brightened at him.

"Unfortunately, an adviser's job is never done. It makes my shoulders stiff after so much, you would not believe!" She replied while stretching her arms up, using this moment just to release some tension. "So, how was it today? Any of the monsters gave you trouble?"

"None. I was able to increase my profit by one again. 23 magic stones." He replied while showing her his satchel bursting of them.

"Wow, you can already make 9200 Valis in a single day! That's impressive, Toll!" She praised him as he felt a bit embarrassed from her cheerful attitude. "So how does it feel, to be an adventurer now?"

"Honestly, it doesn't feel any different from before. I feel just the same, though today I'll ask her if I can update my status." He responded while feeling a little disappointed, he thought that maybe he'd be a little stronger. Rose on the other hand squinted her eyes while looking at him.

"You did update your status after the first week, right?" She asked, he didn't move. "End of the second week?" Still nothing. "You haven't updated at all after these 3 weeks, did you?"

Finally he nodded his head, to which Rose giggled at how he didn't know something like this.

"Listen well, Toll! After the first week, adventurers tend to update their status to know how much they grow and to become stronger! Sure, many prefer to hold on their accumulated Falna to gather battle experience first, but to level 1 adventurers they need every week to grow stronger to head to the deeper levels of the dungeon." To this Toll got his attention grabbed.

"The deeper I go the stronger the monsters, but the magic stones increase in value right?" He asked to see if he could increase his profit.

"Of course! The small magic stones that you bring are from the beginning levels, so they're worth around 400 Valis. The bigger the magic stones, the more they're worth. Of course, this means that the monsters will be stronger, that's to be expected, the stronger they are the higher the risk." She explained to him as he took in her words into consideration, though he had another question.

"Hey, this might sound weird to you, but occasionally the monsters that I kill drop a fang or a nail, I've been leaving those behind because I always thought that they wouldn't be worth much, could you tell me why those monsters drop or if they're useful for anything?" He asked to which Rose looked at him with unbelievable eyes.

"Did those adventurers never told you? Are you serious?" He shook his head to her, to which she pinched the bridge of her nose at how careless they can be and how naive this boy sometimes is.

"Those are called dropped items, Toll. And believe it or not, they are worth some Valis, more than the magic stone themselves in some cases. For example, if you bring a kobold's nail and compare between this tiny magic stone, you'll see that the kobold nail is worth around 800 Valis, double of this stone."

"What!?" He was surprised by that, for the last six and a half months he's been leaving those things behind, which could've helped him in the long run. "Now I'm mad at myself for not asking it even once..."

"And you should be, but it's unforgivable that the party that you tagged along never told you this! They at least could've told you that it was important to bring the drop items with you."

"Maybe they thought that I knew but just didn't want to take anything. Ugh, I feel such a fool!" He clenched his fists for a moment before calming down. "Whatever, it would've been helpful, but I'm still fine with my money situation for now." He replied with a calm head, to which she seemed surprised by his action.

"Usually, kids like you would complain." She said to him.

"As the saying goes, no use crying for spilled milk. Plus, I think I'm different than most kids."

"You can say that again." She responded, making him looking a bit annoyed, probably he thought that she meant that as an insult.

"I think I spent enough time here. There are other people that probably want to talk with you." He grabbed his satchel and turned to the side. "Good work as always."

"You too, Toll." Just as he left another adventurer came by making her attend to her duties once more.

He exchanged his magic stones for 9200 Valis, secured them in his satchel and started to head back home. Many adventurers were partnered with each other and heading into pubs or heading back to their homes. But what made him feel lonely, was that he didn't have a party to walk back home with, not anymore.

But Boris did tell him that once he becomes an adventurer, he could return back into his party. Because of that, he made his objective to get stronger to actually become an adventurer and to stand beside him again with the others.

Power is what he needed. Power and more battle experience. The hardest part was time itself, he has to find the perfect balance between pushing his limits and rest between each excursion he makes.

He clenched his fist at how much work he still needs to do, in order to stand beside that man again with pride in his chest. He can just see it, how they can go back to how things were, but this time there would be something different.

He walked back home as usual and saw Elisa and Lester helping each other before waving at him. He waved back, but the neighbors were looking at him with those indifferent eyes, or maybe they were ones with a sneer.

It mattered not what they thought, he had grown accustomed to them and the last thing that he would want was the town guards and adventurers to start raiding his place for a second time.

As he entered his home, he set his battle scythe aside next to the coat hanger and placed his satchel on top of the table, before sitting on a chair and finally release a sigh of relief. Only now did he notice how tired he was.

"Oh, welcome back, Toll." Athena came out of her room to see who had arrived, to see him again in a dirty state. "Rough day at the dungeon again?" She asked while sitting down in front of him and taking an apple from the bowl of fruit beside them.

"Same as usual." He replied as he took off his gauntlets and set them on top of the table. His hands were hurt, but nothing out of the ordinary beside that. He looked at her and she seemed rather bored, he looked back down further inspecting his hands and arms to see any damage. "How was your day?"

"Having an interest on me? My aren't you warming up!" She said with a small smile.

"It's to distract the pain." He responded back to her, making her huff an air of indignation.

"If you must know! I didn't do much except reading the same books that you have here after finishing the chores you asked of me!" She responded with a mad tone.

"I see. Thank you." He replied while taking out of his arm a goblin's fang that was etched in his skin. "Well, there's something to cash out later." He dropped the item next to his gauntlets and made sure that he wasn't bleeding.

"Geez, day by day you look more battered than a steel plate. Maybe it's time to rest a bit, don't you think?" She advised as he started to look at his legs.

"Maybe you're right..." He took off his handkerchief and clicked his tongue as the wound still bleed a bit. "Some rest would be good." He reapplied the makeshift bandage for now, he would need to change it before going to bed.

He then looked at her and started thinking to himself for a bit, she caught wind of his staring and questioned.

"Is something wrong?"

"There are two... maybe three things I need to talk to you." He took off his armor revealing his brown shirt stained with either blood or sweat, along his neck there were a couple of bandages that went downwards, signifying that he might have bandages hiding beneath.

"Alright, you have my attention, Toll. What do you wanna talk about?" She asked intrigued.

"Let's start with the most important ones, one about a part time job and two about how you'll increase your Familia." He spoke as he took an orange and slowly peeled it off. "I've been keeping an eye on the market lately. Some people want some extra hands in their business, thought that it might give you a way to pass the time since being here all alone isn't good. And also you can make your own money that way, in case you want to buy something for yourself."

"Aw! Little Toll is looking out for me! How adorable." She said before a glare was shot at her. "S-sorry! Didn't mean to sound that way!"

"The second one relates to the first one. In a part time job, you'll be more open to learn new people and starting up adventurers that want a Familia to join. Many Familias won't accept any weaklings, so if you want recruit more people into your Familia, that's the best place.

Of course I don't have much space around here. I can probably lend two rooms at most, so be mindful on who you're going to recruit." He explained to her as she nodded her head, at least he thinks things ahead of time.

"That's clever thinking there, Toll. If I ever want a bigger Familia, then I would need to find a place where I can house them. Ah, but that means that the tax of a larger Familia would increase, not to mention the daily needs of everyone..." She might've started to get a headache just to think about it.

"Daily needs are the least you have to worry about." He responded as he pointed to his sword. "The cost of repairing and buying new equipment should be in the equation not to mention potions, which are expensive to begin with. In this situation, the people in your Familia would need to put a bit more effort in gaining their own Valis while at the same time donating some to you.

Of course, finding a place to stay is hard to find and location could pay a large role to those that want to find you. I could talk around to find one, but the price nowadays to find a home large enough for a big Familia could range from 200000 to 4000000 Valis. And right now, you only have around 3000 Valis from the work you've done around here."

"Oh my! This is a lot more difficult than I thought! I'm amazed that you've thought ahead that much!" She sounded genuinely surprised by him.

"When I have spare time, I think about this stuff." He responded to her while taking a bite at a piece of the orange and swallowing it. "Tomorrow, we'll go job hunting for you. I'll take a couple of days off to recuperate, and at the same time I'll visit an acquaintance of mine in Babel." He responded while taking another piece and devouring it.

"How thoughtful of you! Looks like you can be kind when you want to." She said with a smirk on her lips while staring with a pleased look.

"Quit starting at me like that! We're partners, we help each other. Nothing more." He responded back while eating two more pieces.

"So, what's the third thing that you wanted? By the looks of it, it doesn't sound all that important." She asked while feeling a better mood in her.

"I need to update my status. It's been 3 weeks." He responded to her to which she brought her hands onto her face and whimpered to herself.

"How could I forget to ask if you wanted your status updated!? I'm a failure as a goddess to forget something like that!"

"Yes you are, at least you admit it." He responded to which she looked at him with a deadpanned expression.

"Wow, how mean can you be." She answered while stretching her legs. "So, you want to update now on your room?"

"If you don't mind." He finished his small appetizer and put the peeled bits into the garbage. "I want to know exactly how much I changed."

"It's only been 3 weeks, Toll. Don't get your hopes up if they haven't increased that much." She advised as he took lead.

"I never have my hopes up. It's better to never hope than to be hurt later." He said as though he experienced before. This caught her by surprise, but before she could ask he already laid himself on the bed. "I just need to lay down, right?"

"Y-yes, but pull up your shirt and take off your bandages for now so that I can begin." She responded as she took out a small knife and made a small cut on her finger.

He did as he was told and a single droplet of blood fell on his back, a small sphere formed, floating just above his back. Letters and numbers started to form as the goddess updated his status.

"Hmm... Well, this is interesting. Everything except for magic went up-! A skill already!?" She exclaimed in her head while he still stood still as she read the description of the new ability. "Oh my. Oh my, my, my!" She sounded excited for a moment before the sphere entered into his back. She swiftly put a paper on top of his back and drew a circle to automatically write on the paper.

As she took off the paper, a black tattoo with a shield and two spears crossing in the middle was implemented on his back with information about his status.

"Congratulations, Toll. You're status has increased nicely." She informed while handing him his paper.

His strength was at 112, endurance at 94, dexterity at 98, agility at 85 and magic still at 0. No surprise on the magic, but his strength reached rank H first than the other stats which endurance and dexterity are the highest, but still at rank I.

"This is a skill?" He asked her as he took in the name.

"Yes, Toll. That is your skill, Amelioration. I'm guessing that you have a strong desire to improve yourself and through the many trials that you've faced that feeling became much stronger than your greed.

That's what Amelioration is, to improve oneself. Although this isn't a very strong skill, it makes one learn things faster than others and while saying it's name, the user can temporarily get a boost on their senses, in a way a short power up." She explained to him to which he thought to himself.

"Who would've thought that this child would be able to get a passive and an active skill like that, only a few other people earned that skill after going through much more peril than he did. Count this as a blessing, Toll." She thought to herself as he put the bandages back on.

"Hmm... I'll need to test the skill later then. If you're done, then you can go back to your room or make yourself dinner." He told her as he put his shirt back on.

"You're not gonna eat tonight?" She asked concerned.

"Not now. I just want to turn over for tonight." He responded while lying back down before covering himself with the bed sheets.

"He must be exhausted. I wouldn't be surprised if he said that he wasn't and in reality he was." She thought to herself as she put the small knife on top of his nightstand and left, letting him finally sleep.

"Such a hardy child, he would do well to rest a full week." She then thought of something. "Wouldn't this be the first time I go out with him? Oh my, tomorrow is going to be quite entertaining!"

* * *

Orario

"I came here around 3 weeks ago, but it still amazes me of how the streets are buzzing around with so many people!" She said as she looked like a child having fun.

"It's normal around here. Actually, it's gets louder around the middle of the day, that's when the customers start rushing in to get the good prices." He spoke with experience backing him up.

"Oh my, that much?" She asks a little unnerved.

"Don't think of that right now, we're looking for a job for you. We'll start with the stands on the streets and then we move up to the production district, afterwards if we don't find anything we'll head back home and try again another time once I talk with my acquaintance."

"Let me guess, you had time to think of that." She asked with a little tease in her tone.

"I thought about it on our way here." He responded as he carried his weapons with him. His battle scythe leaning on his right shoulder and his short sword on his right hip.

"A blacksmith?" She asked him curiously, but he decided to not respond, since the answer was obvious. "Right, dumb question."

The made their way up the street and asked stall for stall if they could offer Athena some work, there were different excuses, reasons and conditions that she needed to accept, yet Toll simply told the merchants that they wasted their time on them in a rude way. That was business after all, either the conditions are favorable for her to work or the workplace wasn't for her.

"You could be nicer to them, you know." She told him as she wiped some sweat running down her cheek with a small handkerchief. She then stopped as Toll was eyeing a stall and then approached it. She thought that he was going to have a talk with him so she decided to sit down and close her eyes for a moment. A shadow hovered over her, making her curious.

Opening them, she looked up to see Toll stood there with a dessert on his left hand pointing towards her.

"That's... for me?"

"If you won't eat it, then I will." He replied as she took it out of his hands.

"Jeez, you could've said it in a nicer way!" She angrily took a bite before calming down with the flavor that it contained in the dessert. "This is delicious!"

"That's Oratoria's sweet pastry, a treat that this city is known for. After all that disappointment, anyone would need something sweet to take the bitter taste away." He informed as he took a bit on his own, but he didn't seem to express much contentment like her.

"Maybe he's already used to this sweet." She thought to herself as she took another bite. It simply melts on her palate.

"Rest up for now, we'll go through the production district, as I call it, and see if there's a spot for you. Hopefully, we'll find a good job for you to start working." He explained while finishing his meal firstly than her. He took this time to simply look ahead, for a moment he thought he saw Boris, Gale and Layla walking through the crowd, looking at a shop. But it wasn't them.

Through the weeks that he's separated from them, he's heard rumors of a party that was once before one of the most prominent ones before going stale, becoming active again in full force. Their old party nickname was the unlikely ones, and Toll thinks that it might be them, but it is still early to really figure it out.

"Wonder how those three are doing. Gale better not start making a fuss on random stuff and Layla to not be such a worrywart." When it came to Boris, he trusted his leadership better than those two, not to mention having the backbone to go through those heated moments.

Of course, there were times where he would do something out of the ordinary. Last time, the dwarf put his sword and unified it with a dagger at the handle. At the end of the dungeon, his hands were cut all around. The old age is to blame, that or he's a little too experimental.

As more and more people moved around the place, Athena looked around the different culture and unfortunately the poor that was trying to just stick around. The place was bright, but not without it's small flaws.

They were going from place to place, asking for just the smallest bit of Valis, enough to buy either them or their family or friends some food for today. Athena could only pity those children and poor people.

"M-mister... Spare some money?" A young girl with dark skin, thin enough that anyone could see her ribs and cheekbones to contract. She was most likely an Amazoness that either was abandoned at early age or placed in one of orphanages in the town, they never seem to get enough money to feed everyone, just enough for daily needs.

"Get out of here brat!" A man kicked her out of his way, making her hit the wall. In the case of a regular healthy person it wouldn't hurt, but her frail state must of hurt her enough.

"P-please... Just some money for them..." She implored to the man, without the strength to even shed tears of pain.

"Let's go man, she's not worth it." His companion tapped his shoulder twice, making the other look at the child in disgust before spitting on the girl head and leaving. Despite what happened, nobody helped her or even tried to. They just went by with their lives, ignoring the pain of a child that was already hungry, already in pain.

"How cruel can people be." Athena thought to herself, disgusted at how low that man was to hurt an innocent.

The girl stood up, using the wall next to her as support. She looked around and stumbled towards Toll, this made some signs to go on her, but she decided to simply watch for now.

"M-mister... Could you please... spare some Valis?" Her voice was weak, her scent was horrible and her looks reflected on how she has been treated.

"..." For a moment, Toll just sat there, looking at her. She was clinging to what remained of herself and living a horrible life, coping with herself and others. "You look terrible." He bluntly replied to her. She still was looking at the floor, afraid to look up to him.

"Toll!" Athena screamed on her head, before he took out his handkerchief, dipped on the fountain behind them and started to clean the girl. "What?"

The girl was expecting something horrible to happen again, but this one boy was cleaning her arms and head, cleaning the dirt from her body and the spit that the man from before.

"I hate people that can't fight for themselves." He said as he finished wiping her face. "But not people like you. Not like us." His words to him carry a very significant meaning that only survivors know. To stop fighting for a better outcome, is to renounce a better life. So they have to endure these hardships that take such a beating on their emotional state.

The girl was confused, but at the same time felt as if the person in front of her knows better of her pain better than any merchant around town. She looked at his arms, his neck and his face to see many bandages around him. He's been through much as well, but he's in a better standing now, not seeing indices of hunger on him.

As he finishes cleaning her, he takes a small satchel wrapped with a small string that he had in his right pocket and settled down on her hands.

"Don't give up. It'll be better soon enough, just keep on fighting until the very end, okay?" He asked her, as tears started to form on her eyes. She for the first time in a long time was given encouragement, was given money for her to feed herself and was clean as well.

Emotion stirred up in her as she grabbed Toll and hugged him as tightly as she could. She was so weak that it didn't hurt him at all.

"Thank you... Thank you... thank you, mister!" She hiccuped between sobs while still thanking the kind person that decided to help her. He didn't hug her back, simply letting her tears of joy out of her system.

Athena could simply smile at the good deed that Toll did. For a second, she thought that he'd simply shoo her away, but this went above her expectations. Never she would think that the greedy child, would have a heart of gold to people that had a similar fate as him. How the irony made her chuckle to herself.

The child finally released him with tears still stained on her face. Toll looks at his dirty handkerchief and puts it back in his pocket before taking out a new one, he dried her tears and tied it on her arm.

"Keep the handkerchief, at least you can dry your tears off with it. Be good and be kind, okay?" He asked her, to which she nodded with a little more joy to her tone and ran towards a corner, then disappear.

"Toll, the greedy farmer gave some Valis to a poor little girl that had her spirit down low. Not only that, but encouraged her to keep going! There's something that could surprise someone!" Athena said out loud to him.

"...In life, you can't expect for someone to simply help you. You either fend for yourself or you'll lay down in a corner to be forgotten. Just because I wasn't offered help, doesn't mean I can't try to help someone in a similar situation. I'm not as cruel as I look and I'm not as kind either."

"So, you helped her because you wanted to or because of something else?" She asked confused.

"People make investments, think of that as you will." He responded while looking away.

"How you lie to yourself, silly child." She smiled as she said that, he didn't responded. "So, how much was in that bag that you gave her?"

"10000 Valis should help her for a months worth or so." He responded to which she choked.

"10 big ones!? Toll, how could you give her that much money!?" She asked surprised that he gave that much.

"To you gods, that's pocket money, to us that is a small fortune that can let us survive for a long time. Not to mention, that getting that amount of money is easy enough for me, just need to hunt 23 to 24 monsters and I get my refund back." He spoke to her, yet she was frozen.

"You hunt 23 monsters daily?" She asked him, not believing it.

"I hunted 22, now I hunt 23. Is it that shocking?" He questioned her, to which she sighed and rubbed her right temple.

"Now wonder you need some time to rest... You're overworking yourself to the bone! Literally!" She responded to him a little angry.

"Now that I have a person living with me, I need to work a bit harder. I still suffer taxes, not to mention food, daily needs and much more to account for. It's hard, but nothing to be done about it." He gave his answer to her, to which she looked at him a bit mad, but she couldn't rebut against him, because what he said was true. They need more income, so he has to work more to make their modest lives.

"If you're done eating, then let's get moving. We just went through the market area, we need to pass the free market and then head to the production district." He warned as he started walking.

"Hey, wait for me!" She took a quick bite and gobbled it all up before following him.

They went from place to place in the free market, a place where adventurers could freely sell their goods. Toll never liked this place, mainly due that they always wanted to make a quick scam for the extra pocket money, but if Athena wanted to work here, he would let her.

Luckily or unfortunately in this case, she didn't liked any of the stalls, mainly because it wasn't right to fool people with scams and such. She understood that people went through great deal to gather those materials and supplies, but it simply left a bad taste on her mouth to fool the common man.

"Hmm... Our last stop is the production district." He told her as he guided her through the streets, at this time not many people were around making it easier to walk normally.

"Can you tell me how this district is?" She asked curious.

"I call it district, but I'm sure it has it's own name. Many Familias transform the resources from the dungeon into useful items. Blacksmiths create weapons and armor, pharmaceutics create useful potions, specialized clothing shops use those materials to make attributed clothes, and such. You can say that this place is for adventurers by adventurers. Finding a job here though is hard, but at least they pay well enough if you get it." He explained as best as he could, since he wasn't as familiar with this place as others, most likely because he never needed to come here in the first place.

As they browsed around, Athena got interested in a clothing shop and signaled Toll to follow her as they went inside.

The clerk was smiling as new clients came in, Toll started to look around the place and seeing the different textures and colors of different clothes. Athena went to the counter to chat with him.

"Hello there! Welcome to Heaven's Cloud! The clothing shop that every adventurer is familiar with! How may I help you today, ma'am?" The Pallum asked her with a bright smile.

"I was wondering if there was a spot in this shop where I could work?" She asked to which the man thought to himself.

"I would need to talk with the manager. Wait a moment, I'll be right back." He excused himself as he went into the back. Toll in the mean time continued to look around interested by the different designs and variations.

A few moments pass and she began to feel nervous, normal for someone that is waiting to either being contracted or denied.

The finally the Pallum comes out with an Elf behind him.

"This is her, miss Elanor." He showed her the goddess, to which she took a good look at her.

"Tell me, goddess, are you well versed in spinning and weaving?" She asked her curious.

"Y-yes! I know quite a bit about the process of both!" She responded quite confident in her ability.

"Then you wouldn't mind taking my test correct? Just to see if you say is true." She extended her hand to guide her, but she hesitated before looking at Toll. He felt as someone was looking at her and saw Athena looking at her with an elf beside her.

"If you wouldn't mind, could my friend over there be present in the test?" She asked to which Elanor nodded her head. "Toll, I'm going to take a small test, could you come over here?"

He didn't responded, but he did walk behind her as she was led in the back to see countless materials that could be used for fabric.

"Now then, all I ask is that you're able to pick any piece here and transform it into something that we can make. I'll give you half an hour for you to make." She explained to her as Athena looked around and saw some interesting material to which she grabbed and ready to start. "Alright, begin!"

The goddess' test was too easy for her, as she spun the wheel elegantly and precise, transforming the raw form into a beautiful fabric for the owner to see.

The texture, the color and even the impression on the final product were essential for creating high quality clothing, not to mention the brilliance and shape.

"Miss Elanor! This is-!"

"Yes, this is far more than acceptable. Miss, how would you like to be hired for 1500 Valis a day from 9 AM to 6 PM?" Elanor asked to which Athena was about to accept, until Toll spoke up.

"That is far too low." He spoke up to which the Elf looked at him annoyed. "That quality can't be replicated. I've seen my fair share of people waving their clothes in pride and boasting about it. It easily cost them 25000 Valis because it was attributed. This shop is an attribute one, where they take the materials from the dungeon and create clothing out of them."

"What are you trying to say then?" The Pallum asked indignated.

"That your miss is willingly paying Athena less than an average workers pay." This made Elanor click her tongue.

"You have a sharp boy, Athena." Elanor spoke to which she looked at her a serious expression. "Fine, I'll pay 2500 Valis for her services, I'll even throw in a little extra if she does a good job, how is that?" She asked while chewing on a leaf.

"Hmm... That's a better deal now. An average one, but let's go a bit further" He spoke to her, to which she huffed at him for his meddling.

"Really now? Then let's hear what you have to say." She asked as if it was a challenge for her.

"Depending of the quality of the item, she'll receive 500 more Valis, the higher the quality the more Valis. The highest quality will fetch an increase of 1500." He negotiated with her.

"And how am I suppose to profit with that, kid? This is just a clothing shop, not a den for dealers." She barked back at him.

"The higher the quality, the higher the price it'll fetch. You'll in no way will lose on a deal, if anything you'll basically just lose just 5% of income from the finished product, if not less than that." He explained to which it made sense, she'll still profit from the transaction and she won't lose anything.

"Interesting, child. You have a good grasp in these kinds of deals, not bad." Elanor sounded confident with his proposition.

"You're oddly knowledgeable for someone of your age." The Pallum spoke impressed.

"Athena, make sure you sign the contract with miss Elanor, and read it before signing it. Just in case they'll try to pull a fast one. I'll be outiside waiting for you." As he left, the elf looked indignated that he would say that.

"What a rude child you have, goddess Athena. Make sure you fix that attitude of his when you can!" She expressed her displeasure, Athena simply apologized about it and read as he said.

Everything seemed in order and signed it with a shield and a lightning bolt on it.

"You'll begin tomorrow, for today rest up. The last thing we want is to see you on your first day tired." The Pallum explained as he shook her hand. "It'll be my pleasure to working with you, Athena! I'm Leonel Asterisk, I work at the front desk! We also have four more people, but they are gathering ingredients in the dungeon today."

"And as you know, I'm the owner of Heaven's Cloud and the one that does all the business, Elanor Birchwood. Hope we get along." She then left after saying that.

"She's busy at the moment with all the orders we have, so excuse her for leaving in a hurry!" He apologized for Elanor.

"It's no worries! I hope we can get along as well!" She shook his small hand before waving him and saying a lovely goodbye to him.

"Sorry for taking so, long Toll!" She said in a joyful way as he waited there, playing with the end of his battle scythe with his back leaning on a wall.

"I trust everything went okay?" He asked her, looking bored.

"Yes! I can't believe that you got me such a sweet deal! I can easily earn 4000 Valis if a really good material appears!" She said excited for her work tomorrow.

"Good on you." He replied as he took out a small satchel, the same as before and handed her over. "Inside there's 15000 Valis, have yourself some time and celebrate."

"Wha-! This is a lot Toll! What am I suppose to do with this much!?" She asked astounished.

"Who knows, it's your money. Buy books, go to a bar and have a few drinks or something. You won't be able to laze around from tomorrow on, so go spend what time you have left for yourself." He then stood straight and started to head up towards one of Heaphaestus workshops.

"Geez, at least celebrate it with me." She huffed a sigh as she gave a sad smile towards his retreating figure. "Now where should I celebrate with this money?" She asked herself as she walked in deep thought.

Then a building caught her interest as she read the sign.

"Hostess of Fertility?"

* * *

He walked the same path as he did always, passing the free market and heading towards the Babel Tower. As he passed the multitude of adventurers that wanted to browse the higher floors and medium floors, but what he wanted was to look at the lower floors, where he met that blacksmith. Though, he wasn't alone.

"Ah! We meet again, kid!" The Hume Bunny from yesterday recognized him in a flash, probably because of his battle scythe, it's always a beacon to however is looking for him, mainly Loki when she wants some company.

"You figured out how to deal with the lizards?" He asked half caring.

"Yes, I did! Without your help, though!" He sounded mad.

"Good job, you beat a lizard." His tone was dismissive.

"You're really a rude kid, did you know that?" He was annoyed.

"So I've been told." He replied back acknowledging it being said more times than he can count.

"So, what're you doing here? The lower floors are bad for armor, aren't they?" He asked curiously.

"Bad armor or not, even in junk you can find a gold mine." He responded with conviction behind his words.

"Speaking from experience?" He asked in a cocky manner.

"It's where I found my armor." He replied back staggering the Bunny.

"Whaaaaat? That armor was found in the lower floors?" He sounded bewildered.

"Don't be so surprised. If you look well enough, you can find good armor, even in the most dubious places." He said as if that was common sense. The Hume Bunny simply nodded his head as they arrived at Toll's floor.

"Yo, is it okay if we tag along? I kinda want a second opinion on the armor I should buy." He asked hoping that the kid agrees at least that. He thought for a bit as they walked.

"I'll be at the blacksmith, hurry up and maybe I'll help." He told him and the bunny man flashed him a thanks and a bright smile. He didn't liked those types of guys.

As he passed the counter, the owner opened his eye before closing in a dismissive fashion. He was already accustomed for Toll's visits. The hammering of steel against steel got louder and the temperature increased as well, before appearing next to the counter.

"Camille, it's me again!" He yelled so that the blacksmith could hear him.

"In a second!" She replied back while hammering away quickly and then slowly with heavy hits, then dipping it on the water bucket. Hoisting up the double edge axe, she looked around the base and tested the sharpness of edge. It looked good, but it still needed a few clinks here and there.

"Good to see you, Toll! You need a new repair on your weapons?" She asked while stretching her limbs.

"Actually, I wanted you to strengthen this scythe. It was good as it lasted, but I think I'm going to venture to the six floor in the dungeon in a few days. I'm going to need a stronger version." He explained as he handed her the scythe. It was full of dents and the blade was beginning to become dull.

"Hmm... You're right. This was mainly good for the first 4 floors, going any deeper means you'll need a better weapon. I'll try to make a better one! This is a challenge after all!" She was getting excited to make a new creation. "Although, I'm gonna need a little more than the normal amount..."

"How much, in general?" He asked wanting to know the range.

"A-around 19500?" She stuttered because what she had in mind was a bit extravagant.

"That can be arranged." He replied while counting his Valis. He's handing over too much, especially since the range was mainly 20 big ones and nothing more. "Here you go. Payed up front."

"T-thank you! Ah also!" She went into the back and brought back something interesting. "I made the Caestus that you wanted a while ago! I modified it so that you can equip it over your gauntlets and made sure the iron was treated to last for a long time!"

He was presented to two gloves made out of tough leather and rows of iron that made it look scaly and clunky, but once put on they fit pretty well once he tightened the grip. He could grab his sword well, and concluded that he could probably grab his battle scythe as well.

"Thanks, this'll help in the long run. What about the arm protectors that I asked 4 weeks ago?"

"Not done yet. They still lack some materials that I'm missing, not to mention that it's hard to make one that is both durable, lightweight and easy to remove. But I'll get there! Just you wait!" She had confidence in her skills.

"Alright, I'll trust you." He then brought up his sword given to from Boris. "I just need you to repair my sword for today and it's all." She then took it from him.

"Easy enough. It'll be done in a jiffy." She announced as she went to the grindstone to improve the sharpness of the blade. He sat near a chair as he waited for his sword to be repaired.

"Oi, kid! There you are!" The adventurer from before approached him in a friendly tone. "I found some armor that I'm interested, but I'm not sure that it fits me, could you give me your opinion?" He showed him the box that he was carrying.

"Hmm..." Toll took a look inside and some pieces were actually good, but the rest was junk if nothing else. He took out the junk and left the good parts. "Inside are the good parts, put the junk back."

"What? These shiny pieces are junk!? You kidding me?" He asked horrified.

"Just because something shines doesn't mean it'll be better than what you have now. You have to figure out how practical an armor piece will be to you, how durable it is, how flexible it can be and how many hits it can take. Those shiny pieces lack all of that, they are basically just to show off." He gave his opinion while the Hume Bunny took in the information quite well.

"I see! I'll keep on looking to see if I can find the pieces that I lack, thanks for the help for today!" He then tried to leave but then doubled back. "Hey, just because I'm curious, what's your name? I can't always keep calling you kid."

He looked at him for a moment before looking forward. "Toll, Toll Crow." He whispered, but it was enough for the sensible ears of the adventurer to hear.

"Alright! Pleased to meet you Toll Crow! Name's Albert Bluebird! Hope we can get along well in the future!" He then went again in the back to find more pieces. Toll simply rolled his eyes and continued to wait for his sword to be repaired.

"Done! Here you go, my dear customer! One short sword repaired and ready to strike at the monsters in the dungeon!" She sheathed the blade and handed over to him. "Hey, I know this isn't my place to say it, but I talked with a friend of mine about the Caestus and he said that he'd be willing to teach you martial arts if you're interested. It can help you to learn how to fight with your whole body!"

"Hmm... That's a good deal, what's the catch?" He asked feeling that he'd need some compensation.

"I think he said 500 Valis for a lesson. I think that's fair enough, don't you?" She asked to him.

"More than fair. Tell him that I'll take the offer in a 3 days, tell him that I'll meet him here." He informed.

"Yes, sir! I'll be sure to let him know!" She happily replied with a smile to him, looks like she's beginning to like seeing him around, especially since he always requires her services for repairing his weapons and armor or requesting odd things for her to tinker with.

After they waved their goodbyes, Toll marched his way through the crowds of people and passed through many adventurers that would recognize him. As he walked back home, Lester yelled a big hello for him, while shepherding the herd of cows.

Toll replied with a greeting as well, before entering his farm and passing through his door, he saw Athena reading a book for herself while having four more beside her.

"How was your time?" He asked curiously.

"I don't wanna talk about it." She replied angrily. Knowing that she was in a sour mood, he decided to not press any more and began to make their dinner.

* * *

Hostess of Fertility - a few moments back

Athena was beginning to feel annoyed that so many adventurers were trying to woe her over, or trying to make conversation with topics that she wasn't comfortable. Time ticket and the food that she ordered finally arrived for her to eat.

"Oh what an appetizing meal! You wouldn't mind me taking a bite would you?" One of the pigs asked as he reached to grab a chicken wing. "Gah!" He was immediately dealt with with a knife passing through his hand. "You bitch!"

"Begone, you filthy degenerates!" To make matters worse, these were the same people that mistreated that girl from before.

"Oh you're gonna have it now!" He grabbed Athena's shoulder with force and was about to throw her across the room, before Mama Mia grabbed him. "Wha-"

"Take it outside, you hooligan!" She then threw HIM outside with enough force to scare him. "And pay up for the food you ate, you bastard!"

He whimpered a small cry and then threw a sack filled with Valis, it probably held a little extra without him noticing.

"Now goddess, the next time, just call me or one of maids, don't stab our clients like that or I'll lose income!" She berated with Athena to which she nodded angrily and ate her meal, finally in peace.

* * *

Daedalus street - Evening

The little amazoness ran through the street she memorized it since she was young. She ran with the satchel that Toll gave her under her clothes, passing through on lookers and thieves radars.

Once she found herself in an area that had laughter, she ran through multiple kids of different races that were playing a game of tag. Once they saw the amazoness they immediately rushed to her, wanting someone to play with her.

"Nara! Nara! Let's play! Let's play!" They yelled in happiness for her, despite them looking weak on their bodies.

"Not now, guys! I need to talk with miss Maria!" She apologized as she run into the orphanage and met with their caretaker. She was sweeping absently the abandoned church before Nara appeared in a hurry.

"Oh my! Nara are you alright? Why were you running?" She asked because she shouldn't run so much because of her lack of muscle.

"Ah... Ah..! A boy donated!" She yelled in a joyful manner before making her kind caretaker see the Valis. "See! We can make do! We can eat good food now!" She was so happy that tears of joy started to fall.

"Oh my! What a kind act! I'll be sure to make a meat dish tonight for everyone!" She said in a joyful manner for the child, to which she celebrated while yelling "yay!" All over the church.

Not too far from them, a pair of adventurers clicked their tongues and disappeared in the shadows.


	7. A step somewhere

Hello there, thank you for taking the time to reading this story. Before you begin reading, can I take a moment of your time? Especially the _guests_ that have been trying to grab my attention for these last months?

First and foremost, I'd like to apologize for taking so long to post a chapter. It has been a rather hectic six months of busy schedule on my part, due to school and internships. I'll be honest, there were times that I HAD time to put some of it into writing, however I have been busy with other stuffs that were more important at the time.

Now to the _guests_ that have been trying to make me update this story. It is not my wish nor my way to contact you through this mean, however, due to your anonymous nature I could not contact you and explain my reasons as to why I wasn't focusing on this story at the time. If you'd signed in on the server and PM'd me I would've gladly explained my reasons as to why. However, you decided to not only just pressure me to update a story that has been in my mind for the longest time, you've decided to also intrude in other stories of mine and demanded me to update in such a short amount of time. To that, it is not unusual for me to have deleted such _'reviews'_ as those.

It is safe to say that these reasons have been an annoyance, and that I would've been more than glad to answered them, if only these _'guests'_ would've taken the appropriate steps in trying to contact me.

I'm sorry if I'm taking so much of your time before reading, but these two topics have been giving me a great deal of frustration, not only that, but the fact that I had such a writers block in attempting to create this chapter did not help at all. I've been taking it slow as to try to give a chapter with more quality than quantity.

Once again, my apologies for taking this long, it still needs to be proof read but you've waited enough. Do enjoy the chapter.

* * *

Orario, Toll's Farm - Late morning

A couple of days have passed since Athena started to work in 'Heaven's Cloud', the work that she has done so far has been a blessing towards the shop, being able to produce higher quality products to their customers, while the goddess was simply humming to herself in her work content to do something useful than simply doing farm work at Toll's place.

The warrior however was doing some farm work, letting himself sleep a bit later than usual, despite being an early bird. The vegetables from last season are just about ripe to be picked, just a few more days and they'd be good for the taking.

"With this, I should be able to earn a decent amount of Valis, if they can keep staying this healthy. Maybe we'll have good quality food this month to eat and to sell." He mumbled to himself as he squatted down to take out a bad vegetable from the rest, the only bad one from the batch. He then stood up and stretched, hearing a few pops here and there from his back.

"Hey, if it isn't Toll! How are you doing today?" Lester asked while he was passing by his fence with a hoe on his shoulder and a practice sword on his belt, looking worse for wear since last time. A sure sign that he has been practicing.

"I'd be better if I was in the dungeon getting more profits, but for now I'm taking it easy. Just until my wounds are healed up." He replied back while approaching the fence for a more casual talking. "What about you? How have you been?"

"I'd like to say good, but I'd be lying. Lately my old man has been making me do all kinds of chores that I don't really feel like doing." He sounded bummed while having a lazy demeanor on him.

"Lester, you never look like there's something you want to do. You're just lazy."

"Ouch. Way too early for this, Toll. I don't need to hear that from mister serious that barely gives enough time to get himself healthy."

"Valid point, for once." Once he said that they both glared at each other, there was some tension between them, before they laughed it off. Lester then leaned on the fence with his back.

"I've thinking more lately. Like, if I really am up for the farming life." He sounded pensive as he looked up to the clear blue sky. "Don't get me wrong, I'm already used to it by now, but... when I use my wooden sword for practice, I feel... relaxed, focused even. I know that being an adventurer is much more difficult and more dangerous, but... farming doesn't give me the oomph that I'm looking for. Does that make sense?" He asked in hopes that his friend could understand him.

"I know what you mean. The life of a farmer is a dull one, there isn't much excitement except for the occasional monster that slips by the guards patrolling. You wanting to feel more excited is normal." He responded back, giving the young farmer the confirmation that he wanted. He smiled softly towards the sky, before speaking once more.

"You think my father would allow me to be one? I mean, I know that I'm being selfish with me wanting to be an adventurer, and that if I do become one my father would have more work on his hands and I don't want that, even if I'm actually lazy, I don't want to overburden the old man."He spoke as even though he wanted to be something else, he just couldn't leave his family's business to solely to them.

"Why not do both?" Toll asked casually. "I do my farm work during early morning and afterwards I head towards the dungeon. You can do both, but you need to put an effort on these things, Lester."

"That's... a very fair point. But I still have doubts, Toll. Especially because I'm not you, I can't do these over the top things that you do. Coming home only to be bandaged up to save Valis on potions, doing farm work when you should be resting, heck you even go to town to do some dealings! I'm not... I can't do that kind of stuff."

"Maybe that's for the better. My life isn't... very pretty to deal with. My advice? Take your time. We're still kids, we have more time than most. If you want to be a farmer, then be a farmer. If you want to be an adventurer, then be one, but you have to make sure that it's what you want to be."

"You need to stop sounding so mature, you know. Doesn't suit well with you, since I'm the oldest here." He messed up Toll's hair with vigor, while the boy just stared annoyingly.

"I hate it when you do that."

"Hehehe~! You know you like it! So, what are you going to do today? More training or what?"

"I'm actually going to meet up with a friends acquaintance to learn close combat after lunch. You never know, it might be useful later on." Toll explained as he fixed his hair, as best as he could without a comb.

"Close combat? Is it that useful against monsters?" He was a little skeptical, since most of them were too large to be useful against.

"It has some uses, if you want some space against the small ones or to get away from them. But it's mainly used against other people."

"Other people? You mean that monsters aren't the only thing we have to go through in the dungeon?" Lester was a little baffled at the revelation, naively thinking that everyone helps out in there.

"There are many people with ill intentions, Lester. Sometimes, it's better to be prepared, in case of a duel or something worse than that." He answered, to which his friend swallowed heavily. That was a hard thing to handle right from the morning.

"i get the duel, not the worse part. Geez you really think the worst things, don't you?"

"Better to expect the worst than expecting the best." He got hit in the head by Lester after he was done. "Hey!"

"Cut yourself some slack, you dummy! Not everything needs to be so bleak. Lighten up a bit, you're just dragging people down." He responded back to him a little serious, to which the young warrior reluctantly nodded.

"I'm heading back to my home to finish my chores, it was nice talking to you man." He waved as he moved along his fence with lazy steps.

"Yeah, it was." Toll lightly smiled to that. Moments like these where he could interact with others were nice to him. Deciding that the work for today had been done, he decided to return to his abode, thinking if he should start making a meal now since midday was approaching or to read a book to pass the time.

Inside he decided to hear his stomach, as he was a bit famished since he skipped breakfast. He made a simple meal, an omelet with some cooked rice and a jar of water for him to wash away the food. It was a rather peaceful lunch without Athena there to look at him, though the house felt oddly empty.

"Hmm... I really wanted to go to the dungeon already, but that's out of the question. I don't want my wounds to open again while I'm waiting for them to heal. Speaking of which..." He took out the bandages on his left arm and saw that they were now sealing off. It was rather surprising that they were already at that stage.

"When did they heal themselves that quickly? Normally, it would take me a week or so more for them to reach this point. Maybe coating these bandages with bits of healing potions were a great idea after all. Saves me two potions worth if I were to ingesting them." He said out loud to himself. It was rather surprising to him at least.

Putting a fork of rice and omelet onto his mouth as he kept thinking of other things. Mainly the duel he had with that little girl. So young, yet so strong. So small, yet so agile. Granted he wasn't a level 1 at the time, but still it was an eye opener. Her close combat skills were a bit higher than his, most notably her kicking. She used her body like it was second nature, granted he could do the same however not to that degree. She was being taught by others, he? The only thing that he learned was how to use a sword effectively and to prioritize survival above else.

His scythe and odd combat style were self taught, so learning things like close quarters combat from someone else is extremely beneficial, though the only skill he has at the time is Amelioration. He wondered what his Development Ability would be if he got to Level two.

On contrary from other skills, these abilities are specialized. For example, if one gains the swordsman ability then it is much more proficient using swords or blades. So far, Toll has been using a sword and scythe, one for close attacks and the other for medium range sweeps. If he added the knowledge of fighting without any of his weapons or implement it, would he gain the development ability fighter or brawler?

"Hmm... Maybe I shouldn't think these things right now. I mean, I'm still far away from getting to level 2. The fastest anyone has got it took around a year and a half. No need to rush things and think of things yet to come."

Finishing his meal clean, he put his plate onto the sink and washed it before putting it apart to dry on its own. He stretched himself before taking a look at his available weapons. Out of all of them, the Caestus would be the only one needed to bring, however he didn't want to be unarmed with something that he barely knew how to effectively use, hence he brought his short sword. Better to have something he was familiar with than something that he wasn't with.

"Alright, I've done everything I wanted to do here and the chores are now finished. Let's meet that person that Camille wanted to introduce me to." He thought to himself as he left his home. Walking the road back to Orario has he always had done.

It was an uneventful walk, he didn't bring his armor today once more since he wasn't heading towards the dungeon, otherwise you'd see the ragged armor looking worse for wear, at least from the outside. The black armor underneath has stood strong just fine, which was a relief for his wallet since he didn't know if the blacksmith could repair it in one go, since it was a different metal from her usual iron or steel metals.

When he arrived at the fountain towards Babel tower, he saw the little amazon girl, once more asking for some Valis. Today seemed different than before, as the people around her gave her some donations.

He couldn't help but smile a bit at how she was finally getting a better outcome than before, however he had to think, why was she asking for change again? Could she have spent it already?

That's when a few children came around to talk with her. He silently walked to a nearby corner and eavesdropped on their conversation.

"Hey Nara, how much did you get today?" A boy asked the amazoness with a small smile, to which she replied.

"Just 600 Valis. What about you, Amy?" She asked a the girl that looked like a chienthrope, a person with dog ears and a tail, except her tail seemed hidden beneath her rags.

"400... Not nearly enough... Octave, how much did you get?" She then placed the light on the boy, just a regular human.

"500. Just don't ask how I got it." He said with a hint of regret.

"Looks like he stole that Valis. Even if it was wrong, they need the Valis, but with that much they can go by for a few weeks at best if they ration their food. Something doesn't seem right..." Toll thought to himself as he started thinking about the possibilities.

"I got 700. You think that this is enough for the others to eat as well?" Another one talked, he looked like a werewolf. That little info about 'others' got Toll thinking that they were more than just those four.

"I think it's only enough for three meals... I just hope that miss Maria doesn't have to go through that thing again." Octave said with a little shiver in his voice.

"Hmm..." The young warrior thought to himself once more. Miss Maria seemed like their caretaker and something happened to her that made the children scared, they are asking for donations, sometimes even stealing from people to go by their daily lives and they seem malnourished. "Something is definitely wrong, I gave that girl 10 thousand Valis just a few days ago, it couldn't have been spent so quickly. Maybe I'm overthinking this, maybe they've just been spending Valis a bit too much for some reason. As if they could afford to do that, Toll."

He could only berate with himself with that last thought. They didn't have the lenience to actually spend their savings and donations on something expensive. So it was between two answers, one is that they are bad at spending or someone was purposely affecting them.

"Too little information to go by. Maybe if I see her again when I come back from Camille's contact I'll ask her on what was going on- No, that would be too intrucive. Maybe the people around know about what is going on. That's another bad choice... They might not want to tell me squat. Asking from the source seems a better option then to just go around it."

He already had his mind set. After having his lesson of the day on hand-to-hand combat, if he saw the girl or the children, he'd follow them to where they would call 'home' and then ask them directly. That would be the best course of action in his opinion.

As he left, he failed to notice that some men were eyeing the children with a very ominous glare.

* * *

Babel Tower - Camille's workshop

The familiar hammer could be heard as Toll once more entered the area, however it seemed that today the forge has been heated up more than usually. The shop clerk continued his boring duty to sell the scraps and junk of this place, not even noticing the temperature increasing or outright ignoring it. Most likely because it has happened before and he simply isn't bothered at all from it.

As Toll entered her workshop, he could see her working the smelter with such intensity and focus that she was like a different person. Just her, the fire and the material in hand to work with. She made quick work with the heated up material and carefully put it onto the cast before moving it towards her anvil, right next to the water vase that she prepared beforehand.

It would be a crime to distract her as she is so focused on her craft, hence he took the usual route and just sat on a nearby chair waiting patiently. She waited until the moment that it cooled down enough for her to take out the now modeled material and started to sharpen the edges and flatten certain parts. It looked like a battleaxe, with the pole nearby that looked that it was made from the same material that seemed to make sense.

"Hmm... I guess this part is done... but, it still looks too heavy! Maybe I should shave off the excess and then sharpen the blade up to make it more lightweight, however he did say that he was okay with the weight if it was around 10kg... I guess that makes sense if you want to do more damage..." She mumbled to herself before her gaze lazily turned towards her seat, which was now occupied.

"Hard at work, I see." He casually said with a bored expression her surprised one.

"When the hell did you get here!?" She yelled while making a weird pose.

"Roughly thirty minutes or so? You were so focused working that I decided to wait it out on your seat. Should I have warned you that I was here?" He asked as she pouted at him.

"Of course you should've! I though that one of my clients was here already to cash out!" She sounded frightened at the thought, since she hadn't finish the product yet.

"I'll make sure to warn you then. You think you got a good time on when that guy you talked with me a few days ago will show up?" He asked nonchalantly, putting one leg on top of the other.

"Well, I talked with him and, well, he said he'd come around this time. It is midday, right?" She asked unsure since she didn't own a clock in her work space.

"I think it's half till one, by now. You have ate your lunch haven't you?" He asked as she made a face that told him that she hadn't. "Camille, go eat."

"You don't have to tell me twice." She responded casually as she took out a plate from an iron container, where she then put it near the forge. Toll just gave her a weird look. "What? I gotta make do with what I have! This'll heat it up and that way I don't need to clutter my workshop."

"You mean even more than it already is?" He asked sarcastically to which she gave a gasp.

"What do you mean, already as it is? I'm offended, kid!" She replied to him with a glare, to which both gave a chuckle at each other. "You want a bite?"

"I'm good, thanks. Just waiting on the instructor, that's all." He politely denied as he slumped more on the chair. She ate her meal in peace as time passed by, even after she had finished her lunch they decided to chat for a bit, just some odd facts about smiting and materials. When they were chuckling at a funny joke that Camille said, a guy with a robe entered the workshop.

He was bald with marks on his face that reached his eyes. An green robe with a golden colored sash to hold it in place. It had additional cloth to tighten the hands and feet so that the robe wouldn't be as loose around those parts, all and all making the robe be surprisingly fit on him. He was awfully tall and not as strong as Toll hoped him to be.

"Hello there, miss Camille. Is the student that you told me about that young lad?" He talked in a polite and calm tone, as he greeted her with a small hand gesture.

"Yep! That's him! Toll, this is Mu Lie. He's part of the Buddha Familia branch in Oratoria." She introduced him to the monk.

They both looked at each other, trying to get a feel on one another. It was clear that this monk was much stronger than him, stronger than the kid that he had fought before.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Toll Crow. I'll be in your care." He took a small bow of respect to his supposed master, a gesture much well received.

"Good, very good. Normally, I would be faced with arrogant fools that like to think fighting is rather easy to learn. It is good to see that you have the courtesy to give respect to the teacher and act the part." He praised the young lad.

"I had someone teach my swordsmanship before. Not giving the adequate respect for teaching you something so invaluable, would be too rude." He replied back while reminiscing a bit from when Boris trained him.

"Yes, yes. That is the right decision to take. You are a breath of fresh air from those naive children that are sent our way to train. From the look in your eyes... I can already tell, you have experience already on you. An adventurer with a good head on your shoulders."

"Hardly. I've only just recently joined a Familia, before that, I had to endure the dungeon, albeit with help from a group of 3. We were together for a good six months before we split apart." He responded with honesty to him, not wanting to fool him.

"Recently you say? So you have been to the dungeon for that long without being in one? What a very odd choice to make. Not even a level one and decided to brave the ominous dungeon. Truly the way of a fool." He commented his thought, which made Toll irritated, but nonetheless kept quiet. He didn't know, nor would he know.

"500 Valis, right?" He asked with an not too amused tone, as he put hanged the money on his hand for the monk.

"Eager, are we?" He responded while taking the donation. "Yes, yes. That is the price I mentioned. Now, we just need to return to the dojo for you to start your lesson." He spoke as he gestured towards the elevator.

"I'll see you when I return to the dungeon, Camille. My scythe should be done by then, right?" He asked as he followed his instructor.

"Yeah, no worries! It'll be ready just in time!" She assured him, before he nodded and left with Mu Lie. "And just like that, he's gone. Odd... was my workshop always this big?" She thought to herself as it seemed bigger than before. "Must be my imagination. Back to work, or else my client is going to deduct the pay for not finishing it on time!"

* * *

The walk was silent between the two, except for the greetings that Mu Lie would get from passerby. He must've joined a lot of groups that needed a decent fighter to help them collect materials or experience in general or simply people that he knew for a long time.

"You're quite silent. Have people ever told you that?" He tried to do some small talk with the youth.

"I don't have a real reason to talk, so I choose to be quiet. Is it bothering you?"

"Truthfully, it is putting uneasy. I'm used to youth being more excited and voicing it outwardly." The monk explained as nicely as he could.

"So snot nosed brats that think that they are hot stuff, but only make a fool out of themselves?" Toll was much more blunt, which made the grown man sweat a bit.

"Um... Yeah, that."

"If anything, I don't want to make a fool out of myself, but I won't boast saying that I'm good. Overconfidence can be ones downfall. Boris taught me that."

"That is indeed solid advice for beginners. I'm curious who this Boris is though, is he the one that taught you your swordsmanship?" He received a nod. "So you had a good teacher, that's good to hear. That means I don't have to shape you up to be a good student, if you already are one." He sounded a bit disappointed with that, which slipped through Toll as they arrived at a large staircase. "Welcome to Orario's temple to Buddha, it's some way away from everyone, offering peace and quiet."

At the top of the large staircase, easily reaching 300 steps upwards, was a foreign temple that Toll doesn't recognize at all. It was decorated with a large statue, that looked like gold but was more akin to bronze, sitting down cross legged facing forward, with it's eyes closed. The architecture had a very interesting feel to it, very outwordly yet felt rather at ease. There were sticks of incense being burnt, giving the air a rather smooth smell as the wind blew gently.

Not too far, there were people practicing and improving their martial arts, while others opted to meditate to further their concentration and others wish to play a soothing melody using a flute unknown to the boy.

The boy watched as the martial artists of the Buddha Familia practiced their movements in sync, although he saw that a certain group decided to be practicing differently, as if they were meditating while performing the moves slowly and flowing like the waves of a river.

"Now then, young Toll. Why don't you start by trying to hit me? I'll know right away where you need to improve." He gave him a foxy smile as he waited for him to start, yet he saw that he was distracted by the people training. "Ah, I see that you are interested in their training regime. While it is a tough training for them, you shouldn't get distracted."

"I'm sorry, it's just... This feels so closed off, out of tune with the city below. It's a strange peacefulness that I haven't felt in... sometime." He explained to his tutor as he looked in the blue sky, following the trailing smoke of the incense. "It's... rather nice." A small, soft smile slowly etched onto his face as he relaxed.

The monk seemed surprised that the young boy finally eased up, the way he walked with him with not many words, always on edge and not trusting him had shifted for just a bit.

"Well now, young Toll. When you're ready." He put his right foot forward and bent both knees slightly, waiting for the first strike to come.

Toll put on his Caestus and set his sword to the side, before putting up his fists. Since he didn't know how to fight yet, he opted the one he knew best, street fighting. Him setting his weapon to the side had the monk smile as it was indication that the boy didn't want to cheat his way into victory, though the caestus was a problem in itself since it made his punches stronger.

"Here I come, Mu Lie!" He ran forward with his fists up, closing the distance as quickly as he could. He threw the first punch, but the monk dodged it. Throwing the second one costed him as the monk slapped it away before moving with the flow and delivery a punch to his gut, pushing the air away from him as he doubled over. At that moment, the monk could've hit him again to make him have some distance, but instead jumped backwards, letting him recover a bit.

Taking a deep breath to recover his lost air, took a moment to calm down and look forward, before rushing forward again. The monk thought that he would do the same mistake, but the second punch was different this time. Instead of letting loose quickly like before, he closed the distance with a step forward and nearly hit him. In that one moment where they both locked their eyes, he saw something different on the boy, his blue eyes seemed to give a faint blue glow which was odd.

Leaping out of the way of the punch, the monk moved to his left, being cautious as Toll stumbled forward from hitting nothing. The boy turned to his right and rushed in again, letting loose blow after blow. All being dodged like a flow of a river.

Growing irritated from the continuous misses, he attempted to do a large blow, however his blow was slapped to the side before receiving a quick blow to his chin from a rising palm and then pushed to the side effortlessly.

"Too many heavy blows, Toll. They are easily read, since they take time to wind up. It's best to save them for when the opportunity calls, which means quick ones are better to make." Mu Lie instructed as he smiled as the young boy seemed more irritated, but took a deep breath, calmed down and nodded before putting his fists back up.

He rushed in again, except he didn't go in with just brawl this time. He attacked with quick strikes, all being missed yet he kept the momentum quite effectively, avoiding committing the same mistake as before. This change caught his mentor a bit off guard, however he adapted to the situation at hand and continued to dodge and slap his blows one by one.

"You're wide open on your feet, my quick witted student." He warned as he slipped the boy on the floor before rising once more, the faint glow on his eyes seemed to glow even brighter than before.

"Not done yet." Toll announced as he put his hands back up, ready for another round to hit his current mentor. Any hit will do, he just needed one good hit.

"Interesting... Is this a passive skill?" Mu Lei thought to himself as Toll attempted once more, changing his battle style slightly once more, this leap in development was abnormal to the monk as people tend to stick with their current style until said otherwise. For every hit, every fall, every fail, the boy just wouldn't quit, just getting back up a little bit better than before and more determined than ever.

This little lesson soon got the interest of the training monks as the boy tried his best to hit Mu Lie, which was part of their training before to assess how their current strength was at the moment.

Minutes passed by in a flash, as the boy tried his damnest to fulfill the lesson with the great effort, gathering more eyes than before as normally it'd take 20 to 30 minutes for them to give up and try another time. However, exhaustion seemed to take Toll slowly as each breath he took seemed longer and quicker, his body wanted to slow down, but he just forced himself to keep the pace up, giving jabs here and there and a straight when he thought he could hit his target, only to get hit instead by a swift counter.

It was a slow development for Toll, as even after a full hour of trying to hit the monk and he still hadn't had a single result. His style did change though, as before he wouldn't dare use his legs to attack, now he'd use them to cover certain blows that the monk would give, using arms and legs for a fair deal.

He was tired and the monk was also getting fatigued by the constant dodging and escaping, while the hard and swift counters only took some effort on his part. He is surprised though, for this student to have such a fierce will to learn. It honestly gave him a different feeling from the students that he had before, almost a sense of satisfaction.

The boy gave blow after blow, becoming faster and faster, spending more stamina in the process. He released quick air puffs with each punch to maximize the power behind them.

Mu Lei dodged them, albeit with some close calls and attempted to counter hit him, only to be blocked with Toll's right forearm. He gritted his teeth as the blow almost seemed to seep onto his bone, yet he endured the pain and continued his relentless attempt. The monk tripped him and was ready to give another blow to his stomach as he fell down, only for Toll to us right left knee to take the blow and push him backwards, falling on his back before rolling himself up again.

He was huffing and puffing, visibly tired by all the sweat he was releasing and his battered body. The monk was fairing much better, yet seemed winded too.

"I have to say, Toll. You are by far the most interesting student I've had the pleasure to attempt to teach, I'm impressed that you've endured such a trial so far." He praised him for his stubbornness and endearing will.

"It's not over yet!" He yelled back at him as his chest rose and descended with each gulp of air. "I WILL hit you... Just you wait..." He declared with conviction towards the monk, to which he gave back the kid a foxy smile before taunting him to bring it.

He wanted to move, but his body wasn't reacting the way that he wanted. He was trembling from overexerting his muscles so much for an hour and a fifteen minutes straight. Still, he forced himself to move. The monks that were looking at their lesson could see that the boy had reached his limit, yet he kept pushing it further.

This gave them more fire to further improve themselves, training a little bit longer than usual, since their training for today should've been over half an hour ago.

The kid ran forward and let loose a quick 3 jab combo, which the monk dodged once more and attempted to punish the boy, except he wasn't expecting for him to push further in and shoulder bashing him. This was it, it was the perfect opportunity to hit him, yet he didn't take it as his body cramped up making him lose the opportunity.

Mu Lei however took this opportunity to release a punch that wasn't a counter towards the boy. Toll grit his teeth hard, as he saw time slow down as the blow came in quickly. In a move that almost looked automated, the boy lowered his head two seconds before getting hit and let loose a punch as well, but due to his current state, the blow just shimmer on the monks torso to the side, hitting no more than his robe.

"Damn it... Just short a little." Toll thought to himself as he was pushed back, falling onto the floor.

"Well, well... That was awfully unexpected. Quite the reach you did there, just an inch or two more and it would've been a solid hit on your part. Shame that your body gave up on you at the last moments." Mu Lei sat cross legged in front of his student.

"I pushed too hard, didn't I?"

"Yes, you did young Toll. However, you were able to improve a good portion since you got here. Have you fought before? Because I'm honestly surprised by how quickly you were able to catch on how to fight with your body." He sounded impressed with his current development.

"Once or twice at least? I've been focusing more on my sword training than anything." He was exhausted, his body not wanting to move an inch.

"Impressive, young one. However, trying to hit me on the first day, isn't as an easy feat. It is quite hard for someone so out of touch of the way of martial arts. Still, a commendable effort nonetheless. I'm happy that you aren't so crestfallen on this defeat."

"I know what it's like to lose. Losing is something that I'm familiar with, winning isn't. Though, it isn't everything."

"Yes, yes. Winning isn't everything, but in some cases it truly is everything. Something that is on the line can change the field drastically, young one. Don't forget that." He stood up, giving Toll the moment to rest his tired body. "Now, as much as I'd like to continue train you, we're going to leave it here. My lessons only go for an hour at most, for beginners to accustom themselves. Do come tomorrow if you can, young Toll." He made a small bow to him, to which the boy responded similarly.

"Thank you for today. I'll see if I can come tomorrow." With those words, the young warrior retrieved his sword and made his way to the long staircase, making his descent towards the town once more.

When the young blood left, a monk approached Mu Lie. He was rather old with long black hair, some turning grey, giving off a peaceful vibe with his eyes closed, yet his build was not to scoff at. Scars plastered on his arms and face, meaning he had seen combat for a long time.

"So what did you thought of him, young Lie? Was he the young apprentice that you were looking for?" His voice sounded more like a whisper, yet it held such serenity.

"It is difficult to say, master. He is rather tenacious for his age, a bit headstrong as well. He does have a good head on him and his willpower is quite large, not to mention his want to improve, however you must have seen it as well. His flaw."

"Yes... His soul has much discord, often looking into things negatively. However... I see a seed of light taking root in his heart. It is far too early to say exact on what path he can take."

"Mhmm. He's an interesting kid. He lacks talent, but somehow he improved quite well on his form today. He had this odd glow on his eyes, either it was a skill that he had or maybe it was his will. Either way, I think I'll take him under my wing for now." He announced to his master with his trademark fox grin.

"I see. So my star pupil found a worthy person to train. It has been five years since I let you train others, some were grand, others were not worthy of mentioning. I wonder how he'll feel when you tell him of your current level."

"If anything, I think he'd treat me the same. His way of talking has been very respectful. Him knowing that I am a level 4 adventurer." Though he said so in a foul tone, his master nodded albeit not bothered.

"We all need to pitch in, in order for the temple to keep standing, Mu Lei. It is a rather shameless way, but we all have to make sacrifices if we wish to stay in this land."

"I know master, I know. I'll just have to bear with it for now."

"Good, my student. Let us keep doing our best to guide the youthful to a brighter way, for that is the way of our Familia, Buddha's Familia." He walked away, almost without a sound as they went their separate ways, one to mediate, the other to continue his physical training.

* * *

"Ow... that hurt. A lot. He hits so hard..." Toll thought to himself as he rubbed the hit on his forearm, it looked like it was going to swell, but that was him just being over dramatic.

"He was just toying with me in the end... how infuriating. Although..." He clenched his right hand and he was sure that he became a bit better, he didn't had any feeling that he was stronger or faster or anything in between. But he felt a bit different, it was the smallest thing, but it was something. "This is another step, right?"

Walking in the town, he stopped at a stall and bought something to drink, a bottle of water and a skewer with meat and vegetables in it. He honestly would prefer to eat at home, but it was too far away at the moment, not to mention that he was famished. It was a nice change of pace from the normal schedule that he usually takes.

As he sat down on a bench to eat his meal in peace, he saw the kids from before just a little worried and nervous as the day was slowly coming to an end. Toll thought that maybe they didn't like the dark, but didn't want to go home yet.

"Hey, you're that kind guy from before!" The amazoness kid, yelled as she approached him from his side. She seemed happy to see him. He looked at her from top to bottom and saw that she was a little roughed up.

"Once again, you look dirty." He bluntly commented to her. She nervously laughed at him, uncomfortable at her appearance. "Though, you look a bit better than last time. Looks like you've been eating a bit better."

"Y-yes! Thanks to your help, we could eat well for a few days!" She happily replied to him, as his eyes squinted the smallest bit.

"Hmm... Orphanage. That WOULD explain on why she's going around asking for money, but still wonder on why they keep asking for more. At the very least it would've lasted for a full week and a half." He thought to himself as he kept eating his skewer. She was eyeing him eating, hearing her belly rumble a bit, to which she covered embarrassed.

"Dinner time is coming soon... but I'm feeling rather generous today. Why don't you call your friends over and I'll pay you guys some skewers?"

"Really!?" The moment he said that it was like stars seemed to light on her eyes. Not to be surprised if one is hungry and there's the promise of free food. "I'll go bring them then!"

He rolled his eyes at her enthusiasm as he went to the vendor once more and bought six skewers. Once Nara came with the other two, no doubt anxious at the stranger, despite her saying that he was a good guy.

"Here. Sit down and eat up." He gave each two skewers as they sat on the bench. Nara greedily took them and started to eat them with great vigor. Amy was slow on the uptake, but once the first piece of meat and vegetables hit her mouth she started to eat faster. Octave was more apprehensive and it seemed like he didn't like the vegetables on the skewers. "Don't like vegetables, huh."

"They taste horrible... I don't know how anyone can eat them." He replied back a little uneasy with them, thinking of throwing them into the garbage.

"You can't afford being picky, kid. Vegetables are as important as meat, though you do have a point on them tasting a bit bad, I'm guessing the vendor overcooked them for too long in the grill." He was at least agreeing on the part of them tasting bad.

"Mhmm." He nodded before with a shaky hand biting them down and swallowing them. He was not a big fan of them, at all.

"Uwah! That helped a lot! I was famished!" Nara said before she stretched her body and looked at the sky. "Oh shoot! It's late! Miss Maria will get so worried..." She panicked a bit in her place. Toll however took a look around and found something rather strange as he interacted with the kids, there were three fellows loitering around stealing some glances towards them. Something about them gave him a bad feeling and how one of them kept a steady gaze on him.

"Hmm, maybe it's best if I take you three home. Just in case." He made sure his voice was well heard to the three kids, this action didn't do much towards the men, but they frowned a bit.

"Wha-! You don't have to do that! We couldn't possibly bother you anymore than we have..." Amy spoke up, though her voice started to become lower and lower with her shy nature.

"It's fine. I can get home a little later today, it wouldn't be the first time." He reassured her as took their wooden skewers into the trash and stretched a bit, catching Octave's attention with his short sword.

"Woow~! Is that a sword? Are you an adventurer?" He asked with some excitement in his tone.

"I am. Even though I didn't went into the dungeon for a while, I feel safer with it, never know what might happen during the long hours in the city." He explained as he put a hand over it, feeling the familiar pommel on his palm, though he had to put more pressure than usual since he still had his Caestus on.

The boy was trying to keep him distracted as much as he could as his hand inched closer and closer towards his gold pouch, he was close but he was hesitating on getting it.

"I wouldn't do that, if I were you." Toll spoke up to him, making the boy looking at him. He bent his knees so that he was at the same height as him. "I know that you stole Valis, kid. "This made the boy stiffen up as a cold sweat crawled on the young boys neck.

"This is it... He's going to report to the guards! Miss Maria is going to be disappointed with me again..." Octave thought to himself as he clenched his hands.

"P-please don't tell the guards, mister! H-he didn't mean it! We... we just... we just need to money to feed ourselves..." Nara spoke up, trying to help her friend somehow by taking part of the blame. The boy looked at her, but he was incapable to say a word.

"What happen to the ten thousand that I gave you? Surely it couldn't have been gone in mere days. You kids can scrape by with that for a month at the very least." He inquired trying to get some info on the situation.

"..." They were silent shut, but small tears formed in their eyes as they trembled in what seemed like fear. Something DID happen like he thought.

"Can't say, huh." They were still silent, refusing to cooperate. "You know your way home, right? Take me there and maybe I'll keep quiet on the guards about your friends sticky fingers."

They nodded and walked a few feet in front of Toll as he followed them to their home. He looked over his shoulder once in a while to make sure that they weren't tailed in the meantime.

The way towards the orphanage that the kids were staying at wasn't easy to memorize, much less trying to find the place without a guide. Especially since they had to go through Daedalus Street, a wide residential area for the poor class located in between Orario's east and south east Main Streets, known to be the other Dungeon of Orario due to the complex multiple planning done to it.

Onlookers and thugs were regulars in this area, often looking around for easy prey to tackle, though guards give heavy patrols in the area to minimize these attacks.

As they walked silently through the streets, they arrived at the orphanage where a nun was waiting with a concerned expression on her face. The kids brought someone that she didn't know and from the way he was armed, it means that he caught them doing something that they shouldn't.

"Good evening. What brings you here at this hour?" She asked with a hint of apprehension.

"I'm just making sure these kids are returning safe and I'd like a word with you, if you don't mind."


End file.
